Contest (The Stork Tower Book 6)

by Tony Corden

  Meanwhile, Merideath’s spell seemed to be growing in size as the volume of escaping magma increased, and the obsidian shards became thicker and more prolific. Suddenly, there was an earth-shattering blast, and a geyser of steam and ash exploded just in front of the magma spell. The geyser turned into a continuous spray of superheated steam mixed with small shards of volcanic rock which blasted out in an ever-widening circle from where Královna’s shroud was battling Merideath’s spell.

  As the battle was going on underground Merideath was discovering just how dangerous Královna’s blood casting was. Merideath had waited till the Blood Gargoyle was nearing the bottom of its dive when she pivoted. Throwing one foot wide and bending at the knee she swept her sword above her head, neatly splitting the gargoyle down the middle. As the two halves separated, they reconfigured to form two smaller Gargoyles which turned independently and manoeuvred to resume their attack. Both absorbed the different spells she sent after them. Merideath equipped what looked like a simple rock and threw it at the first attacker. Just before it reached the flying creature, it exploded, ripping pieces from the gargoyle. Each piece reformed as a gargoyle, one was the size of a basketball while others were as small as ants. Each one turned to attack. Merideath equipped what looked like a battle-axe and moving to the side slammed the second gargoyle with the flat of the blade, sending it spinning out of control to crash on one of the obsidian shards which ripped it into three pieces. Each piece reformed and flapping their wings they headed for Merideath.

  As Merideath dealt with the insurmountable Gargoyle, Královna had troubles of her own. The steam suddenly cut off and the magma spell, if that is what it was, again headed in her direction. The blood mage seemed to totally ignore Merideath as if she knew there was only one possible result from the battle and began to retreat from the fire. As she started to move, the spell Merideath had cast split in two, each one turning to move in Královna’s general direction but one on either side of her. Each branch began to slowly increase in size as it moved. Královna swore under her breath and darted to her left. The branch closest her new path divided again, and the other branch made a slow turn in her direction.

  Both mages had cast what was known as an Infinite Zeno Spells. Supposedly, Infinite Zeno Spells couldn’t be learnt, and like the Phoenix potion, they needed to be earned, bought or won. Leah could understand Královna using one on Merideath as she was likely to be the toughest rival Královna would face. She couldn’t understand Merideath’s motivation unless she had a source for more such spells.

  Infinite Zeno Spells kept dividing without losing mana. The Blood Gargoyle would eventually break through Merideath’s defence. As they reached her armour, they would feed off its defences and then finally kill her. In the same way, the magma would keep growing and following Královna. No matter where she ran, it would follow as well as branching out to cut her off. If she didn’t try and stop it, it would keep multiplying under the ground, gaining power, momentum and speed.

  By now, both mages were ignoring each other as they tried to slow the Zeno Spells. Královna cast a variety of spells, water, ice, blood, shadow, silence, and air and each one slowed the magma for a moment before being overcome. Merideath, on the other hand, had tried using mana differently. She used an air spell to form a small tornado. It drove some of the smaller gargoyles off course. The larger ones travelled some distance into the swirling air before touching the tornado spell and siphoning off the mana and growing even larger.

  Královna cast an air spell and levitated off the ground, only to have the magma begin pooling underneath and a myriad of obsidian spears to start growing in her direction. She cast again and moved away from the flow only for the chase to begin anew. Merideath was swiping close to her body now and trying to brush the gargoyles away without damaging them. Each time they touched her armour, they absorbed some of the mana, grew larger and resumed their attack.

  Královna was running out of room fast. Each time she crossed one of the magma flows, it branched as it sensed her pass overhead and began chasing. Merideath was also out of room as the smallest gargoyles, some the size of rice grains, had attached themselves to her suit and started tearing it apart. Královna was high above the arena floor as the pool of magma grew underneath her. She could see the pool widening and beginning to vibrate as if to erupt. She glanced across at Merideath and saw her fall as the tendons on her leg were torn apart by the attacking gargoyles. With a smile that was hidden beneath her hood, she scrunched her body into a ball and willing her blood shroud to form around her as a shield, she let herself fall into the magma.

  At the top of the arena, a bar appeared over each contestant to represent their health, both of which were dropping rapidly. The crowd’s noise had disappeared as more than half the world waited to see who would come out victorious. Královna’s health was almost empty when there was a sudden pulse of mana deep within the magma pool that was felt by both Leah and Seishin_no_kage_12. In that instant, Královna’s health stabilised for what was only a couple of breaths, but it was enough. Merideath’s health flashed bright red and dissolved into the grey of death.

  44

  Chapter 44

  December 17, 2073 - MERKIZE CONTEST - Part 13

  DUNYANIN - CONTEST

  Leah sat there in shock. Merideath had lost to the blood mage. Merideath was out of the contest. Beside her Seishin_no_kage_12, who hadn’t moved during the whole fight, slowly turned to face Leah. Leah, not quite aware of what she was doing, matched her turn until they faced each other over the table. Seishin_no_kage_12 must have passed on a message for Tomoyo returned and carefully lay out a brazier, teapot and a variety of utensils Leah recognised as important in a tea ceremony. She had Gèng provide help and waited as Seishin_no_kage_12 cleaned the utensils for use.

  Seishin went through the steps with an economy of movement which helped Leah marshal her thoughts and emotions as if she was meditating. The matcha powder Seishin used was in a sealed container closed by an intricate weave of silk and carved wooden tiles. Leah found the tea sweet.

  After drinking the tea, Seishin_no_kage_12 cleaned the utensils before Tomoyo came and removed them. Seishin looked at Leah and they sat there in silence for a minute.

  After a second minute, Seishin_no_kage_12 spoke for the first time. She said, “Empress, you bring great change to this world. Many see you merely as something new, but those with understanding know you to be a catalyst. You burn brightly, and in this fire everything is transformed. The Queen of Magic would not have won without your example of honour and courage when you battled the Dragon Knight. The Sea Witch understands this, and she will place her loss at your feet. Tomoyo shared your words, and so even I am transformed. If it pleases you, I would be known as Taree.”

  Leah bowed in acknowledgement and said, “Taree, I thank you for the gift. Please call me Atherleah, or if you wish, Leah. That is what my friends call me.”

  Taree was quiet for almost thirty seconds before she said, “You give me the choice openhanded without assuming to know my purpose. This is not something to be decided in an instant. Friendship freely offered is indeed a rare gift, the price of which is unknowable. Thank you for visiting with me.”

  Leah understood that her visit was over and bowed her head. She did a quick check of her inventory and then as she rose she left one of the Level 4 fist-sized Darkness Diamonds where she had been sitting. Without any words, Leah left the room and started back toward her own balcony.

  She was almost there when Gèng said, “Sharon discussed the action figure opportunity with Leon. He apparently made some disparaging remarks about your ability to give him headaches by creating major time-sensitive tasks. He then delegated the responsibility to one of his new assistants. At their suggestion, Sharon contacted the major players in the real world and those who control the virtual action figure, toy and doll markets. She asked for a basic description of what they want and what they are offering. Sharon wants to know if you can meet with her, Peter and
the assistant, a Thomas Mitchell, later today? If you can, she can give the different stakeholders a deadline.”

  “After this, I’m heading to Pneumatica, then Cosmos Online, then I have an hour before being back in Dunyanin. I was going to sleep then. How about a short meeting either before or after the sleep?”

  “Sharon will check with the stakeholders and make a decision on which is best.”

  Leah had made it to her room, and she was thankful for the opportunity to rest as she waited for the next bout. As she waited, she listened to the messages from her friends congratulating her on the fights so far and commiserating with her over her loss to Yuè Fēi. She sent a short 3D reply to everyone, although her response to Thad was a little longer. She asked him what he thought of the action figure opportunity. With those out of the way, she said, “Gèng, is that everything?”

  “No, you have almost a million messages from different fans and businesses. As usual, I kept some, primarily those from your friends. I’ve sent most of the rest directly through to Sharon. She has an AI service which sorts and prioritises the messages. The service she uses has sent her over nine thousand messages which they call ‘Priority 1’. These are messages from Head’s of State, CEO’s of major multi-nationals, and business opportunities above a million VCr. Most of these will eventually end up back here for you or me to deal with. Besides those, which you are welcome to start working on, there are over three thousand messages which I did not forward to Sharon. Most of these I sent to John as they are anonymous email or videos which threaten violence. He has a security program which analyses these and interacts with Virtual Security to try and apprehend such people. There are another eighteen which need your direct attention, thirteen of which I consider unsafe to discuss anywhere except in the Tower.”

  Leah sat down and said, “Do you need an assistant?”

  “No. I’m making use of several storage areas constructed throughout your skeletal system, and I’ve borrowed several processors from the Pod. Even after a rebuild, I would benefit from an increased number of processors. I’m looking at either purchasing or otherwise constructing some larger and faster ones.”

  “OK, what are the other eighteen?”

  “They are a mix that is hard to classify. Each one is different. They mostly concern things that are personal and private but not necessarily needing the highest security. For example, there is a message which I think is from Aarav Joshi’s sister.”

  Leah wanted to listen to that straight away but said, “Leave them for the Tower. Actually, leave them all till I get there. They can wait. What I really need is peace to think. Can you add some background sounds? Maybe some wind through the trees and waves breaking at the beach.”

  Gèng started the sounds playing. Leah closed her eyes to think and rest.

  Leah’s awareness returned to the contest with the blast of the trumpet. Opening her eyes, she saw Princesa_Amazônica_23 and Delta_Knight_01 appear. The pair had already faced each other and Leah was wondering just how different the second match-up would be. The first difference was the simple acknowledgement that passed between the two. In both cases, it was a simple nod of the head, but it displayed a change in how they saw each other. There was no arrogance in either nod, only an acknowledgement that this was a duel of skill, not an opportunity to climb over the top of an opponent.

  Another difference was the armour Delta_Knight_01 wore. This was good quality but utilitarian. It was, Leah decided, like armour she had worn straight off the shelf in her earlier levels. Nothing about it seemed designed especially with Noah in mind. Leah was sure there were added enchantments but doubted it would protect anywhere near as well as his last one had. As the second trumpet sounded, the duel began the same as the last one. Princesa_Amazônica_23 tried to keep the Knight away from her as he tried to get closer. His approach this time was much more careful, with him dodging arrows and actively using his shield not just to stop them but to deflect them away at an angle, just in case they spilt poison. This time he tried to minimise the damage. Leah thought he fought with a greater respect for his opponent, even if that respect was earned by his weakness.

  The ranger continued to fire her spelled arrows, but this time when one of her arrows fell short, Noah noticed and moved warily. He’d learned from Gottes_Kreiger_10’s mistake. Even so, every now and then, Princesa_Amazônica_23 would set one in his path, or over his head. Each time the knight responded by shifting his angle of attack. Not being forced to protect herself, Leah noticed a pattern in these missed shots which she doubted she would have seen if she’d been busy dodging the others. She had Gèng raise her vantage point and looked down on the arena. After returning to the usual side view, she knew she needed to practice if she ever hoped to be as good an archer as the ranger.

  Princesa_Amazônica_23 was building a complicated system of traps not unlike what she’d built before, but this time instead of a cage where each arrow connected to the one adjacent, these arrows were placed as equilateral triangles. Some were small and some larger. Many of the larger ones intersected at some point, but Leah wasn’t sure how the triangles might interact. So far, from Leah’s reckoning, the knight had yet to step into one of the completed triangles.

  The ranger kept moving as Delta_Knight_01 was beginning to recognise the arrows types, and was dealing with them faster and getting closer. Princesa_Amazônica_23 must have noticed the same thing and began firing two arrows at a time. Sometimes they both arrived together, but occasionally the ranger would have them arrive on either side of the knight or one a slightly after the other. She also began adding the occasional beast. The arrow would turn into a wolf or a ferret. None of the animals was the same size as the beasts she’d summoned earlier, but they did some damage and slowed the knight down.

  Noah was almost inside one of the triangles Leah had recognised. As he stepped into it, there was a brief flash, and each arrow turned into a lizard the size of a Komodo dragon. Each of these had a frilled neck along which Leah could see electric sparks arcing. The three reptiles rushed toward the knight who still had to deal with the constant barrage of arrows. One of the lizards was closer than the other two and rushed forward to snap at the knight's leg, only to have Noah cut the head off. As the lizard died, the other two increased in size. It looked to Leah that the spell the ranger was using was like the used by the Pharaoh ants back in the anthill. Both others reached the knight at the same time, and he used his shield and sword to keep both from attacking as well as trying to damage both. One of the dragons timed its lunge just as Noah pushed the other away. The knight was ready though, and as the reptile reached him, he stepped aside and using the fire out the end of his sword, managed to cut the head off the lunging lizard.

  The third lizard increased in size again, but what was more damaging was that it was again back at full health. As the knight manoeuvred away from the lizard, he stepped inside another of the triangles, and after the flash, three large goat-like creatures appeared. Each had a single horn like a unicorn and had claws instead of hooves. All three charged the knight. He was now not only facing the monstrous Lightning Komodo but three Unigoats and a barrage of ensorcelled arrows.

  Without his heavily spelled armour, Noah was slowly worn down. The armour he had was soon covered in dents and scratches. Whatever the spell he’d had tattooed on his body, it seemed almost as tough as the armour. Even so, he was slowly destroyed as the ranger kept up the barrage and continued to surround the knight with the beastcasting triangles. Altogether, they battled for twenty minutes before the Knight was finally killed by a large iron-plated millepede the size of a car. As Noah died, Princesa_Amazônica_23 lowered her bow and seemed unsteady on her feet before she too disappeared.

  45

  Chapter 45

  December 17, 2073 - MERKIZE CONTEST - Part 14

  DUNYANIN - CONTEST

  There were fifteen minutes until the final bout in this round and Sharon asked Leah to give some interviews. Leah agreed and headed out to talk wi
th the two reporters Sharon had arranged. The first was with Chéng Shí. She was waiting in a small alcove Sharon had arranged for the interviews. Sharon had arranged for some low backed lounge chairs to be set on a stage, so when Leah sat down, her wings could still fold behind her without dragging on the ground.

  As soon as Leah was seated, Chéng Shí said, “Atherleah, thank you for agreeing to talk with me. We aren’t live at the moment but will broadcast once Deathmaster’s interview is finished. Would you prefer to be called Empress Atherleah or just Atherleah?”

  “Atherleah is fine.”

  “Are there any topics you would prefer not to talk about?”

  “Not really. If you ask anything too personal or private, then I can always not answer. So far, your questions haven’t been overly intrusive, and that’s one reason I’ve agreed to the interview.”

  Chéng Shí nodded and looking down, took a deep breath then looked up and said, “Welcome Atherleah. Thank you for agreeing to speak with me. Many of my viewers have shared that they didn’t know who to cheer for most, Yuè_Fēi_Lóng who is almost a national icon, or their new favourite, Atherleah. Some have suggested you could have defeated him if you’d attacked in the same manner as when you fought in the Trial by Combat. Is this a fair assessment?”

  “I honestly have no idea. The powerful spells I used against Gottes_Krieger_10 and Delta_Knight_01 may have defeated Yuè Fēi, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Yuè Fēi had one or two defences against my strongest spells. As with many of the spells that are very powerful, the ones I used can only be used once each day. There are stronger spells like those used between Merideath and Královna_Kouzel_666. Those can only be used once, ever. You either need to win, buy or steal another one. What this means in practice is keeping them until you need them, gauging the situation so you don’t waste them. Both times I used the biggest spells today, I believed I needed them; otherwise, I would have lost. But using spells that powerful doesn’t mean you always win, as Merideath showed us.”