by Jamey Sultan
Over the next hour, they slowly whittled down the monster’s health. The longer they took, the harder the fight as it got used to its new body. But finally, Vegar’s sword penetrated the patch of scales that he’d weakened with his Drakefire bolt. The sword slid in, driving deep into the monster’s heart.
You have killed Soul Collector (Boss: Level 75).
+ 67,454 experience points
Basking in the glow of his kill, Vegar allowed Mandra to harvest materials from the beast while Audun, Butcher, and Sinew searched the Shrieker corpses. It didn’t matter. Vegar only had eyes for one body. Approaching the corpse of the shaman, he picked up the still-glowing staff. It was carved from wood with a powerful violet core embedded in the tip. Vegar ignored the shaman’s burnt clothing in favor of two rings and a bracelet that gave off a soft orange glow. He left the rest of the loot to his crew.
Wishing he had the ability to identify items, Vegar put them away in the cart, and waited for the other slavers to finish looting. Once they were done, he called them over to gather around the cart. They all looked like hell. Butcher and Sinew were covered in large cuts and bruises. Sinew was missing an ear and had a little nub where it was already starting to grow back. Butcher was missing both eyes—how he was able to finish the fight was beyond Vegar’s understanding. Audun had spent all of his Mana and lay half-dead on the ground. Mandra had disappeared into the forest with the corpse of her bird the second the fight had ended. Vegar didn’t understand, but he didn’t begrudge her some alone time.
They all stared silently back as Vegar looked them over. He’d wanted to put some distance between them and the battlefield before more Shriekers found them, but seeing the state his people were in, he couldn’t. He may rule through pain and fear, but as a leader he still had to know when he was going too far. That was just pragmatic. “Let’s set up camp here tonight.” He said, to the relief of the other slavers.
Once they had warm food in their bellies, they relaxed, as much as they could with what they’d been through. Every once in a while, Vegar would turn to see the eyes of the slave on him. The one the Shriekers had wanted. What was his name again?
An ominous wind cut through the forest, tossing leaves and small branches in the air. Vegar looked around nervously. The sky darkened, and the trees shivered as the gale built up into a full storm. Raindrops the size of his fist fell through the air as bolts of lightning smashed into the ground in explosions of pure power.
This storm wasn’t natural. Vegar looked around frantically. The shaman! He must still be alive! But how?
His eyes fell on the slave, who was now standing outside of the cart, chanting. A rainbow of light surrounded him as his fingers wove through an intricate spell form. How had he gotten out? Where could he have possibly learned a spell this powerful?
Vegar didn’t have time to answer those questions as he dodged a piece of hail as big as his head that left a crater when it hit the earth. “Kill him!” Vegar screamed at the others, pointing towards James.
Chapter 24
James watched Vegar’s eyes widen as the slaver noticed him casting. He had been so distracted by the fight that he hadn’t noticed when James used Shadow Step to escape the cart.
You are affected by [Property] -20% to all stats while you go against your owners
You are attempting to escape. Stay free for 24 hours or kill your owner to lose your [Property] status.
Once James had escaped, he moved to a slightly better hidden area and started to cast Syreus’ Wrath. Wind whipped around him as he spoke, picking up small branches and flinging them around the camp. The more he spoke, the stronger the wind and the larger the radius of the storm. Vegar stepped towards him, arms outstretched, but it was much too late to stop him.
James stood motionless, his entire being focused on casting the spell. The raw power of a god flowed through him as he channeled the power of the God of Storms, using his body as a conduit for the energy of the amulet.
“Vyas Etero Vicie!” With those last three words James completed the spell and the storm burst forth in a raging maelstrom of energy. Thick columns of lightning struck the ground, blasting up clumps of dirt and creating craters in the earth. Droplets of water the size of his fist intermingled with hail the size of his head, barraging the ground as snowflakes floated down peacefully. With a small expulsion of will, James set up a safe zone around the slave cart, creating a hole in the storm to keep the other slaves safe.
The violence of the storm had taken the slavers by surprise, and they paid for it as they were barraged by wind, rain, and hail. Sinew tried to crawl towards him but couldn’t make any headway in the raging storm, her strong muscles bulging as she pushed against the headwinds.
James had no such issue. Surrounded by a cone of stillness, he advanced on Vegar. The slaver tried to raise his sword to defend himself, but a chunk of ice slammed into his arm, breaking it with a crack. The slaver screamed in pain, dropping his sword, but James didn’t slow, advancing on his enemy with his Orichalcum dagger drawn.
Vegar tried to speak, but James couldn’t hear him over the sound of the storm. With another small exertion of his willpower, he extended the clearing around him to cover the head slaver.
“How dare you! I am your master and you will obey me!”
James ignored him and advanced further. The slaver pointed a finger at James. “Stop immediately!” he screamed.
You have been given an Order: Stop immediately. Failure to obey will result in Punishment.
James ignored the slaver and took another step forward. This time he felt a pinprick of pain in the center of his skull as he stepped forward. With every step, it intensified. After three steps it was the worst pain he had ever felt. After five it was unbearable. Still, he soldiered on, taking slow methodical step after step towards Vegar.
He reached a point where no matter what he tried, he couldn’t make himself take another step. He tried to will his body forward, but it wouldn’t obey. James collapsed to the ground and with his last remaining shred of consciousness he removed Vegar from his protection, allowing the storm to ravage the slaver. He’d wanted to be the one to drive his dagger through the slaver’s heart.
James woke up to a deep silence, hanging heavy after the noise of the storm. Through the fog James could see indistinct figures slowly picking their way through the wreckage of the camp, illuminated by the strange purple glow that emanated from the fog.
You have gained 1 Skill Rank in Stealth.
You are now Skill Rank 10.
You have killed Audun Strommen (Level 27 Orc Hypnotist).
+ 297 experience points
Level up (x2)! You are now level 12.
You have killed Sinew Brutsbane (Level 30 Orc Barbarian).
+ 315 experience points
Level up! You are now level 13.
Three levels!
After casting that spell, James understood why the Fragment of Syreus was a legendary object. Still, he wished it had taken out all the slavers, not just two. James cautiously dropped into Stealth and crept into the thick undergrowth, taking care not to step on any branches or disturb any plants. Once he was hidden, he took a look at his character sheet to figure out where to put his points. He had fifteen stat points in six ability points to assign. In the distance he could hear moans of pain from Vegar as he called out for help, but he ignored the slaver.
After seeing the power of magic, James decided to focus more on his spellcasting ability. Keeping that in mind he put three points into Wisdom and two into Intelligence, bringing them both up to 26. He put six of his remaining ten points into Constitution because he kept almost dying, and the last four into Dexterity, bringing it up to 21.
Once he had assigned his attribute points, James took a look at his abilities. He brought imbue darkness up to level 5 and his dagger responded, flaring briefly with a dark light. James then spent two points in Stronger Shadows. When he purchased the Stronger Shadows ability, some of the black energy that su
rrounded the dagger sunk into it, darkening the metal. Sadly, purchasing Stronger Shadows didn’t reveal anything new in his ability tree.
After purchasing Stronger Shadows, James thought about what to put his last three points into. He decided that he wanted to reveal more of the class tree, so he put one point into Arcane Armor.
WARRIOR OF SHADOW I
Arcane Armor (1/10):
+10% Shadow Defense.
Shadows flow freely through your armor, bolstering its defense.
James watched as shadows escaped his skin and flowed over his leather armor, turning it from a tan color to a darker grey, with shadowy light playing over it. Two new nodes popped up.
WARRIOR OF SHADOW II
Shadow Armor (0/5):
*Requires Arcane Armor 5
Darkness wraps around your armor, cloaking you.
WARRIOR OF SHADOW II
Silent as the Night (0/10):
*Requires Arcane Armor 5
Your aura condenses into darkness, padding the joints of your armor and muffling the sound of your movement.
James wanted them. Even though James wasn’t a stealth-based character, he had gotten good use out of his stealth skill. Both of those skills would be insane for a stealth-based rogue, but still useful for him. At Skill Rank ten in Silent as the Night he could move completely silently! Maybe revealing more of the map hadn’t been the best idea, as he couldn’t decide what to get.
Oh, well. In for a penny, in for a pound.
He put his next point into Pierce the Veil to finish revealing all of his Tier II abilities.
WARRIOR OF SHADOW I
Pierce the Veil (1/10):
+ 5% chance to see through stealth effects
Your connection with the shadows allows you to see through attempts to hide.
James then looked at the new ability that had been revealed.
WARRIOR OF SHADOW II
Fearsome Visage (0/10):
*Requires Pierce the Veil 2
Your aura emits a malevolent energy that has a chance to cause a Fear effect on enemies
He didn’t know what to do. Every one of those abilities was amazing. He put the remaining point into Arcane Armor to bolster his defense, as he was turning into a glass cannon. With that, he was ready to continue the fight.
James carefully picked his way through the trees, following the noise of Vegar cursing.
He finally found the slaver pinned underneath a large tree that had fallen on his legs, cradling a broken arm and crying out in pain. He approached the slaver silently, dagger drawn. With surgical precision, he plunged the blade into the back of the Orc’s neck, severing his spine and paralyzing Vegar.
James turned Vegar over and watched the panic in the slaver’s eyes as he saw his own blood on James’ blade, then realized he couldn’t move, or even take a breath.
“Goodbye, asshole.” James plunged the dagger into the slavers eye. As the light left of the slavers eye, a globe of crimson energy rose out of the slavers body. The globe pulsed once before exploding into a red liquid that splattered all over James. The liquid flashed one more time, before disappearing into his skin.
You have killed Vegar Heziel (Level 30 Half-Orc, Half-Dwarf Slave Trader).
+ 291 experience points
Level up! You are now level 14.
You have completed the quest: Liberty or Death
+ 31 experience.
Vorgak the Vile has placed the Mark of Death upon your skin. This mark can be seen by all evil-aligned individuals.
You are now [Wanted].
Current Bounty: 100 Gold.
You have gained 1 Skill Rank in Small Blades.
You are now Skill Rank 3.
James grabbed at his foot as a burning pain spread across it. With a small ding, a new notification popped up.
Your brand: Property has evolved.
You have gained the brand: Liberty
+ 1 to all basic stats while not enslaved
James was glad to be rid of his slave brand. He could feel the difference in his movement, in his strength, and in the clarity of his thoughts now that he didn’t have a 20% reduction to all stats. He was also worried about the implication of the bounty on his head, but there was nothing he could do about it. It wasn’t like he been planning a picnic with someone called Vorgak the Vile.
Not wanting to spend more time deciding where to put points, James put one point in each of his stats, except endurance. Raising them evenly had been working out well for him so far, so he wanted to continue that trend. He put one point in Arcane Armor and another in Imbue Darkness.
He turned to the cage. Now that Vegar was dead, James could let out the rest of the slaves.
Cautiously he looked around, making sure that none of the remaining slavers were in his vicinity. He couldn’t see anyone through the thick mist as he crept to the cart and looked through the bars.
“Hey,” he whispered as he approached. “You all okay?” He was a bit worried that his protection had waned when he had passed out. The possibility that he had accidently hurt the other slaves was very real, but the fact that the cage looked unharmed was a good sign.
“What was that?” Nidra asked, looking a little windswept but no worse for the wear.
“How did you do that?” Arik asked, shock evident on his face. He let out a huge grin and shouted, “I’m free!”
“Shhhh,” James whispered. “They aren’t all dead yet. I wanted to get the rest of you out first.”
Arik mimed zipping his lips, but he grinned all the same. “So, how are you getting us out of here?” he whispered.
James chuckled. The Dwarf was much more animated now that he wasn’t soulbound to a sadistic slaver.
James tried to pull open the cage door, but it was locked tight. When he tried to smash the lock with the pommel of his dagger, the metal clanged, but when he examined it afterwards, he didn’t see any marks on it.
He cringed. That had been too loud.
Maybe his Stronger Shadows ability would let him cut into this strange metal.
“You aren’t going to manage that,” the Dwarf chuckled. “Trying to cut through Darksteel with Orichalcum!” He burst into laughter again.
James sighed. “Then how do I get you out of here?”
The Dwarf stroked his beard. “Where I come from, we have these magical talismans we call ‘keys’.”
I should have thought of that. Way to go, Brainlord.
James crept back to Vegar and searched his corpse. He went through the slaver’s pockets. There were a few odds and ends, but no key. He searched inside Vegar’s coat and found his pouch attached to Vegars belt. Pumping his arm in victory, he retrieved his pouch, leaving the belt. There would be time to loot the corpse later when there wasn’t a rather hefty chance that he would be attacked by an orc.
After about five minutes of getting way too comfortable with the dead slaver’s body, James finally found the key hanging from a necklace. He yanked the chain, breaking the necklace, and retrieved the key.
Darksteel Key:
Rank: Rare
A key crafted from Darksteel
Once he had unlocked the cage, James received a notification.
You have completed a hidden requirement of the quest: Liberty or Death
Requirement: Free all the slaves
Reward: Higher Brand
James felt the now familiar pain in his forehead as his brand shifted, changing into something new.
Your brand [Liberty] has evolved.
You have gained the brand: Liberator
+ 10 to all basic stats
You have been given a quest (Repeatable): Forging Freedom
Forging Freedom (Repeatable): Find and free as many slaves as you can
Suggested level: n/a
Reward: Varies depending on group size and difficulty
Penalty for failure or refusal: none
As James read through the quest prompt, he finally realized why he’d been brought to Novis
. He would eradicate slavery from the land. He didn’t care what some God wanted with him, this was his true purpose.
“Thank you!” Arik exclaimed, wrapping James in a bear hug.
“Now what?” Nidra asked.
“Now we hunt.” Orrel said. “Who is left?”
James stared at the group, unsure what to say. Finally he settled on “Well... Butcher and Mandra are the last two slavers.” He thought for a second. “Umm, lets-”
“Right.” Nidra interrupted. To James’ relief, she’d seen that he was struggling and taken pity on him, taking command. “Let’s split up into groups of two and search for the last two.” She spat on the ground after saying their names. “If anyone finds one, call out and we can attack together.”
“I work alone.” Orrel said simply.
“Me too,” James said. In reality he didn’t care if he had to work with a partner, but he wanted to cut up an orcish corpse to boost his anatomy skill, and he wasn’t sure how the others would feel about him butchering a sentient in the name of “science.”