by Ember Lane
Jade has altered her status from neutral to lifelong friend!
Well, I thought, it’d be rude not to.
You have altered your status with Jade from neutral to lifelong friend!
“Hey, what about me?” Star shouted, and I looked over Jade to see her bounding toward me. I instantly got a notification that told me Star was now my mortal enemy, but the grin on her face cushioned the blow. I soon had two lifelong friends, and we turned and climbed up the ladder to Lazmador’s.
Sedge was in the thick of it; Lazmador’s gang huddled around a big map laid out on the floor. I edged closer, but Star pulled me back. “Yours is more of a point and shoot role—one that’s been upgraded since one of Lazmador’s henchmen saw the last bit of your fight with that Hydra beast.”
“What are you doing?”
“My role, well me, Glenwyth and Mezzerain, but more than likely just me and Glenwyth now, is to create a small diversion in the Pantheon to the Great God Belved.” She winked. “I’m fairly sure we can manage it on by ourselves. You see that, and then you start your…display. Lazmador is going to provide the targets, and Cathelina is the escape route. Nothing will start until The Thief, Pog, gives the signal.”
“And what is that?”
“Apparently, we’ll know it when we see it. But if I remember rightly, his last signal lit up the night sky as if it was day.”
Pog, I thought, what on earth have you become?
30
A Rogue’s Gambit
The shadowy alleyway stank, clearly used by the adjacent tavern’s lazier customers, but it faced the Temple of the One True God, so we put up with it. Our cart was shrouded in its darkness, the driver waiting for his signal. I was wedged up against the driver’s bench with Sedge beside me, our legs tucked under our chins, pushed there by the tightly packed, upright barrels. Even though it wasn’t quite noon, noise bubbled out of the tavern like a party was in full swing, ale clearly flowing. We waited for Pog’s sign.
“I’ve got the alchemy skill now.” Sedge nudged me, as though he was repeating himself. I was miles away, wondering about Pog, wondering what had happened to him.
“What do you mean, now?”
“While I was making the…pyrotechnics, it announced itself in my mind and told me that I was a level 1 Alchemist. As soon as I’d made the first explosives, it bumped me straight up to level 5 and gave me 500 XP for being the first person in the land to make a bomb out of herbs, spices, oils, and a few strips of rag. I can’t quite work it out.”
“Just how explosive are these bombs?”
Sedge grunted. “They wanted a diversion, not a massacre. I had to hold back from being too creative. I still can’t fathom the reward. Surely I could put any concoction together and level up, as any mix could technically be unique. I could power my way to level 100 just mixing random stuff together.”
“Nah! That can’t be right.” I thought on it, glad to be rid of my wondering. “What if the game knew what you wanted to make, liked the effect, and once it decided that the stuff you’d made would do what you wanted, gave you the reward?”
Sedge scratched at his stubbly chin. “That makes more sense…”
My own mind then went into instant overdrive as it fled thoughts of Pog. If Lincoln had taught me anything, it was that cheating in this land worked, and Sedge had something. “If that reasoning is true, then if you want to experiment, you don’t need to waste time testing. You’ll know if the mixture’s right by the reward.”
“Eh?”
“Well say if you wanted…I dunno…paper for a fuse. You visualize the paper, the fuse, the fuse in action, and then you make the paper. If it’ll work, then the land will reward you. If it doesn’t, throw it away and repeat.”
Sedge grinned. “And, if the reward is for a unique item, then you’re the only one with it. Nice. You can craft a bit, yes? Because making paper isn’t alchemy, I’ll do the gunpowder, you make the paper.”
“Level 5 crafting,” I crowed, quite proud of my little achievement, given that I’d only had a day or so at it.
“Sweet,” he muttered, but was obviously thinking hard. “We get this done, and then I’ve got some ideas we should mess around with.”
“Like what?”
Now he glanced at me and shook his head. “Not sure I want to introduce them into this land, but they’d be mighty handy for fighting big bosses.”
It was my turn to nudge him, but mine was more of a sharp dig. “Like what?”
“Grenades,” he said.
Yeah, Sedge was army, and it looked like we were going to take monster fights to the next level…
“So, you and this boy, Pog, friends?” he asked.
“We met in the waiting area—he was all alone and latched onto me. What about you? Did you meet anyone?” I was prying, seeing if he’d spill the beans and tell me who he was.
“No one new,” he muttered, his voice trailing off and his head tilted upward. “Well I’ll be,” he gasped.
I felt the ground tremor, and a grinding noise filled the air as if the earth was splitting, followed by a massive explosion that made me instinctively flinch, and duck down in our little well of safety. When I looked up, I saw what Sedge had seen. A red spear of brilliant light streamed from the temple’s tower, punching up through the afternoon sky like a laser beam. “What the hell’s that?” I asked instinctively, but knew. The spear thickened until it became column-like. At its tip it billowed into an angry, mushroom-like cloud. I felt immense amounts of energy radiating out from it, and slowly, the blue sky turned mauve and then glowed red and spread out in an ever-increasing circle. Gradually, that crimson color engulfed the whole sky and turned the noon sun the shade of newly spilled blood.
“I got to hand it to your little friend, he knows how to put on a show.”
Wind swirled around us, disturbing only the heavy silence that filled the streets. The tavern’s clientele had spilled out onto the road. As one they were looking up at the roiling column, but as quick as it had erupted, it must have been cut at the root, and it roared upward, swallowed up by the sky itself. Our driver eased the cart forward and onto the main road. Now clear of the fearsome eruption, I saw that the top of the Temple of the One True God’s tower had been blown off, its pyre now raging free. We stopped on the spoke of Shyantium’s wheel-like roads, one that led to the westward bridge.
Panic filled the streets. Upturned faces shouted about prophecies coming to fruition, about the return of The Crimson Mage and of how Cronis had been wrongly damned. Others blamed ShadowDancer, and yet more blamed the priests of The Combinium. Angry faces looked up at us, we were so out of place, so clearly not part of the scene. I readied my bow and quiver stashing it close by, and put my hand on the pommel of my sword, just to comfort me.
I wondered how Star and Glenwyth could top that, right up until billowing, black smoke erupted over the rooftops just to one side. Sedge started to laugh. “That should put the cat among the pigeons. I’ve not got your grasp on the politics of this land, but I’m guessing the followers of Belved and ShadowDancer are in for a bad time.” He stood. “They’ve set fire to Belved’s Pantheon. Nothing like seeing your god fried by a vengeful and clearly more powerful one.” Sedge pointed up to the red sky, but then kicked barrels forward, the front one toppling onto the road. “And action!” he shouted.
The cart lurched forward, taking us through the mayhem. Angry shouts sounded out from the milling crowd as the carter barged them out of the way, fists pounded on its side. A wizard tried to drunkenly recant a spell as the first barrel rolled into them. Taking a breath, I cast a straightforward Quazede’s Trident, not bothering to split it at all. The gray energy bolt flew from the tips of my fingers and struck the rolling barrel. It exploded in a plume of choking gray smoke, scattering the angry mob.
Another barrel toppled off, and I sent another bolt toward it. More smoke billowed up, but then the shrill sound of whistles rang out.
“City guard!” our driver
barked. “Gonna pick up the pace.”
The third barrel tumbled, and soon exploded. The cart started hurtling down the road, scattering any in its way. We trundled fifty or a hundred yards down the road, through the merchant quarter. All the while, Sedge sent the barrels tumbling; I cast my magic, and a file of gray smoke filled the way behind us—a trail for Pog to follow. I began to think we might make the bridge easily.
Sedge tossed yet another barrel, but just as I was about to cast my spell, an arrow thudded into a barrel next to me. The driver screeched to a halt. More arrows flew down on us, and I saw the road in front was blocked with a rank of pikeman. I cast Fork of Lightning, but rather than scatter, the soldiers charged. A dozen arrows thudded into the cart. Sedge took one in the arm, and the driver slumped over, a shaft sticking out of the side of his head. I put up my Arcane Shield in the hope that it might give me some protection. Glancing around, I sought out the archers.
I saw them standing atop what looked like a garrison house. Just as they were about to fire again, two shadowy figures appeared behind them, and they were soon slumped over the building’s crenellations, Lazmador’s militia coming to our rescue. Sedge jumped onto the cart’s front bench, kicking the driver’s corpse out of the way.
“Need some magic this way,” he shouted, as he pulled the spooked horses under control and aimed the unwilling beasts toward the pikes. I threw Fork of Lightning at the advancing soldiers' determined faces, spreading it across their rank. They all stopped as though they’d been hit some invisible barrier, and we burst through.
A punch, the like of which I’d never felt before, made my back explode in pain.
Damage! High Wizard Cormodor casts Comet of Pain. You have received 165 Damage.
My body was flung forward, doubling over the bench. The cart lurched, tossing me back into the cover of the barrels. Another huge explosion told me that this Cormodor has sent another bolt but hit the barrels instead. Then I chanced a look up.
The back of the cart was on fire, smoke billowing from it in a thick, black curtain, filling the street. I tried kicking the stack off, but they were wedged tight.
“Looks like we’ve lost him in the smoke,” I shouted.
“Get up here!” Sedge screamed. “It’s having the effect we want. Clear the way forward for me.”
I jumped onto the bench next to him, and retrieved out my bow and quiver. The bridge loomed in the distance, chaos played out behind us. Casting Heal over Time, I decided to leave the arrow in Sedge’s shoulder. It looked like we had a clear escape. More magical bolts flew past us, hitting the buildings either side of us, raining down bricks, shattering windows, and Cormodor obviously unsighted by the black smoke.
Then I heard the sound of hooves, but I could see no cavalry, no horses, but the first soon poked its head through the billowing smoke, charging fast alongside us. I nocked an arrow, quickly imbued it with Tungsten Tips, and loosed. The rider wobbled, and then fell, but latched onto the cart, struggling to pull himself up. The next rider pulled alongside, this time I imbued the arrow with Straight Shot, and aimed for a gap in his helmet. It took him clean off his horse, but his place was soon filled with another.
I cast Stone Mirror behind us, and heard the crash as unseen riders were upended, but we still had problems. The injured cavalryman had pulled himself into the well left by Sedge and I, and he stood, sword drawn. On Sedge’s side, two more riders were drawing close. One jumped, landing beside the injured cavalryman. I drew my sword but cast Quazede’s Trident first, splitting it into three, taking out the two soldiers in the well and the third on Sedge’s side. But I’d used the magic too close to me, and it blew me toward our pelting horses.
Sedge reached out, but he was already struggling and missed me. Luckily my leg snagged on the bench. My head dangled precariously close to the road. Sparks flew as my sword was dragged along the road’s stone flags. I knew we were in deep, deep trouble. Where were the rest of Lazmador’s people? Forcing myself back up, my stomach muscles cried in pain. I saw the galloping hooves of our pursuers closing all around, but could do nothing from where I dangled.
With one great heave, I pulled myself up, clawing at Sedge’s knee with my free hand, only to stare into the twisted, snarling face of another cavalryman, standing over the wilting Sedge, his raised sword primed, ready to strike. With a grunt, I plunged my own sword up and under his breastplate to slide through his guts. He lurched backward, eyes wide with shock, and he fell back into the fiery cart. His momentum pulled my sword with him, propelling me back onto my feet. I slid my sword from his stomach and spun, looking for my next foe. For a minute, I thought we were in the clear.
My world erupted with an emerald hue. Fingers of pain stabbed at me, and I felt my Arcane Shield absorb a huge lump of mana. My own mana flowed from its pool to strengthen the shield, but it left me dangerously low. Spinning around, I saw the entrance to the bridge. Standing between its balustrades was a sole wizard, a ball of light growing in his hands. I urged my mana pool to fill, and desperately looked around for a way out.
Sedge grabbed my arm. “The cart’s going to blow—those last barrels aren’t smoke bombs. The horses!”
He lurched forward, clearly in dire pain, but managed to mount the horse in front of him. Ignoring the wizard, I did the same, hacking at the tethers that strapped the horses to the cart. I could feel the animal’s fear and then its instant determination to escape the blazing cart. Breaking free, Sedge’s mount flew down the road, leaving the cart way behind. Mine kept alongside. The wizard hesitated for a mere moment as one target turned into three. In that instant, we were alongside him, then past him and on the bridge. Arrows flew over my head, hands reached out to grab me. My sword chopped through the jabbing pikes, my terrified mount jumping their line, then trampled any behind.
A deafening explosion rang out behind me as the last barrels finally caught light, but I couldn’t chance a look behind—Sedge was listing badly. Veering over, I cast Stitch and Stem again, reached into my belt and handed him a health potion. He snapped the top off, downed it, and he perked. Glancing behind, I saw the carnage left by the explosion and then I saw Glenwyth and Star hurtling through the chaos, ranks of cavalry in close pursuit.
Sedge screamed at me, pointing at a sole barrel strapped to the bridge’s stone balustrade. “Blow it!” he shouted and hurtled on. I knew he hadn’t seen Star or Glenwyth. Reining my horse in, I slowed. The cavalry were only twenty odd yards behind them, and I knew that wasn’t enough. Casting Zombie Claws just behind Star and Glenwyth, I aimed it just in front of the two lead horses. The first stumbled and fell, the ones behind tumbling over, but others soon checking and streaming around the recovering pile.
But it had gained them precious seconds.
I sent a bolt of magic at the barrel just as Star and Glenwyth flew by it. The barrel fizzed into a bloom of white fire that seemed to actually melt the very stone around it, then the bridge exploded in a curtain of raging fire and tossed rock. Star and Glenwyth flew past me, and I thought I saw the flames part, thought I saw them shimmer, and wondered if I was truly doomed this time. Some invisible thing hurtled toward me.
Desperately, I turned my mount to flee, but then I was shoved in the back, so hard that I slid nearly up to my horse’s neck. It staggered forward, nearly overbalancing, but somehow managed to recover. This time, though, it didn’t feel like magic. We galloped away from the devastation. I felt someone, something grabbing at me and tried to twist around.
“Will you stop struggling,” his voice rang out, and my heart near stopped.
Pog grabbed a tight hold of my waist.
31
The Hidden Land
Cathelina had been waiting for us, as had the groargs. The beasts had taken us away from the city and up to the mountain cabin where we’d met up with Jade, Samuel, and a clearly distraught Draylane. Mezzerain had been there too, and though not fully recovered, he was well enough to rant about being left out.
We hadn’t bee
n able to rest there though, and the beasts had taken us back up the hill, up the ice floes, and across the mountain’s pedestal. They had passed straight by Cathelina’s refuge and took us all the way back to The Thumb.
While no longer black and cursed, fledgling shoots of green, patches of brown mud, and the very occasional stark color of a budding flower had only started gaining a foothold. Still, the mood of the valley had lifted, and when they put us down by the little farm, by the pigpen, and by the warehouse where the wizards had hung, it was almost akin to coming home.
Cathelina left us immediately. She said she needed to consult with her peers, that she needed to tell them what had gone on in Shyantium, and as a party, we’d all looked at each other. Though the farmstead wasn’t ideal, it seemed to be a place where we could, at the very least, recoup for a day or two.
Jade, Samuel, and Draylane were eager to seek out Cronis and begin their new lives, even given the time of day. The sky was no longer crimson but a darkening blue, and they wanted to press on down the valley and to White Water. I told them to journey The Silver Road to Thickwick and to lodge in the Hunter’s Cross, assuring them that either Allaise or the half-giant, Pete, would arrange passage to Lincoln’s hidden city. I was sad to see them go and hoped their lost souls could find a home in Joan’s Creek.
Mezzerain was still struggling with his injury, and Glenwyth was desperate to find some ingredients so that she could make some poultices for us. Pog reluctantly let go of my tunic, and wanted to take off back up the valley, saying he had a secret place. But then, as if he hadn’t been thinking straight, he coaxed us all to come with him.