The Kobold Thief
Page 4
In a fraction of a second, Kurt whispered “Explodieren” and released the arrow. k`1`2
The arrowhead flickered between red and black as it cut through the air. The arrow pierced through the unconcealed eye of the enemy Tracker, and immediately an explosion shot out of the back of his head. The rival Tracker and Lorcan both fell to the ground.
0 of 100 HP remaining.
Chapter 9
Lorcan’s ears were ringing as he lay face first on the ground. Am I dead?
He felt a heavy object be lifted off him, and then he was flipped onto his back. He opened his eyes and saw Gilnar yelling down at him, but couldn’t make out what he was saying through the ringing.
He shook his head as he got up on his elbows, and then onto his feet. The ringing started to disappear and he could finally understand the panicked dwarf.
“Boy! Boy, are you alright? Answer me, lad!”
“Yeah… yeah, I think so. All I remember was that guy about to kill me and suddenly there was an explosion behind us…” Lorcan looked down at the Tracker’s lifeless body and the arrow in his head. “Did that have something to do with you, Kurt?”
The man grunted as he came over to loot the dead Tracker’s body.
“Sure was. I can cause my arrows to do a number of things, such as explode. Luckily for us, Hyperion’s Keep saves us from the gore of seeing this Tracker’s brain all over the ground. Arrow stays in his eye, though.”
“Kurt… thank you. You saved my life, even after I told you not to worry about it. You’re a great friend.”
Kurt paused as he was going through the Tracker’s things.
“Don’t mention it. I had the situation under control the whole time. If anything, the dwarf almost blew it for us, drawing the enemy’s attention to me.”
“Hey now,” Gilnar started, clearly flustered. “I had no idea you were so good with that twig and string! Ya only got one eye, after all!”
A bright light flashed behind the dwarf, and they all turned to see the Warrior and Cleric standing up, with their wounds healed.
“That should do it,” commented the Cleric, removing her hand from the Warrior’s back. Lorcan glanced down and saw she was holding Gilnar’s mace as well.
“Oi, me mace! Give it back!”
Lorcan summoned fire to his hand while Kurt pulled out his bow.
“Woah, woah, slow down. We have no desire to fight you,” said the Cleric with her hands raised. “We heard everything that Gareth, that piece of trash you defeated, said. We always thought he was a crook, and would ditch us if the going got tough.” They walked over and handed the mace back to Gilnar.
“My name is Sandy, and this is my husband David. We’re on our way to Inganno and would be happy to help escort you three on your way there.” She went over to Lorcan and raised her hand. A small ball of light left her palm and circled around his neck, healing the wound caused by Gareth.
“Thanks, Sandy.” Said Lorcan. “However, we are trying to track down a thief and don’t know for sure where that path will lead us.”
“A thief, you say? He most certainly is heading to Inganno, then! For one thing, you are headed straight there and are just an hour out. On top of that, Inganno is famous for its shady residents.”
Lorcan turned to Kurt. “Do you think the Kobold’s path is headed that way?”
“Yes, I assumed as much,” nodded Kurt. “Inganno is also the fastest way to head north, which would allow him to reach more towns and cities than are available in this low level region. Realistically, this ‘I.’ would be in the next area, if his henchmen were strong enough to take you and your friend both out in just one hit.”
“Hmm, well it probably wouldn’t hurt to have these two come along with us, then. Surely most people won’t want to attack a group of five,” concluded Lorcan.
The Cleric and Warrior told them of their travels as they made their way to Inganno. The two had joined The Game later on in life. They had always dreamed of having a family, but a few years ago found out they weren’t able to have children. They used Hyperion’s Keep as an escape from the problems of the real world, and found much success by being a healing and tank combo. They dreamed of starting a guild one day, which would have an emphasis on being a part of a big family that truly cared for one another. Most guilds were focused on training, fighting, and completing quests. For that reason, none spent much time in the starting areas, which contained mostly new players and simple commerce. Their guild would be devoted to the starting area and nurturing relationships. Starting a guild cost quite a bite of coin, however, and they were having problems coming up with the necessary money. That changed when they met Gareth.
He told them about the Prairie and convinced them that anyone heading to Inganno was up to no good. They would capture these evil players, take their gold, and let them be on their way. It was as if they would be modern Robin Hoods. Unfortunately, the travelers did not always appear to be as wicked as Gareth had promised them, and he became more and more greedy. They never wanted to actively hurt or kill anybody, and had to begin holding Gareth back from doing so. After hearing what the selfish Tracker said while they were getting back to their feet, they had decided not to intervene on his behalf. They were done being his henchman.
As the group of five walked on, the terrain was slowly changing over time. The hills became less frequent, the grass became lower and non-existent in some parts, and finally the ground turned to a red clay. About a half mile in front of them was a large, dark city, with smoke rising from various rooftops. A giant chasm cut around the large town, with a bridge connecting north, to the other side. Everyone came to a stop and stared at the ominous scene before them.
Kurt walked up and placed a hand on Lorcan’s shoulder.
“Welcome to Inganno, kid.”
Epilogue
His horse trotted along, off of the bridge over Death’s Chasm, connecting Inganno to the Northern Plains.
The hooded rider glanced over his shoulder, past the motionless body of his deceased captive, and back to Inganno. He was to meet up with a contact from his organization back in town, but he was unable to find the man. He asked around in the necessary places, but everyone was silent on the matter.
Before he could contemplate it anymore, his pocket started to buzz. He reached in and pulled out a small silver disk. With a click, a small blue figure appeared. He was covered from his shoulders to his feet in spiked armor, and had a faceless mask.
“Commander Felix,” said the small figure, “what is your status?”
“I’m heading into the Northern Plains as we speak. I have found a potential new soldier for us, and had hoped to enact the Awakening on him in Inganno. This Warrior has or should know where a legendary item is, and knows the Berzerker stance. However, my contact has seemed to disappear on me.”
“You would be correct,” nodded Felix’s master. “Our man in Inganno was assassinated just two days ago.”
Felix’s eyes widened beneath the hood. Their city operatives were trained to be extremely careful and not bring attention to themselves. This couldn’t be the work of him, could it?
“We believe the assassin to be the Gamebreaker.”
Felix pulled his horse to a halt. It sounded like he was correct after all.
“He has reappeared?”
The small figure nodded.
“We have intel that indicates this to be the case. As you are aware, he seems to know the whereabouts of some of our bases and members.”
Felix scanned the horizon and tried to take in his surrounding. Was Gamebreaker watching him right now? No, he would have already attacked him if that were true. If even half of the stories were true, he stood no chance of defeating the legend.
“I was planning on checking in at Base 504. Do you advise that I continue on to a location further away, in case the enemy is already waiting there for me?”
The hologram thought about it.
“No, it would be good for us if you could make
sure that 504 is still a safe point for us. If it has been compromised just like Inganno was, we will need to take proactive measures to setup a new sanctuary. Before making it there, I would recommend performing the Awakening beforehand, and convincing your captive to join our cause. While he probably won’t be of much practical use, you could at least have him be fodder and escape, if worst comes to worst.”
“Yes sir.”
“Report in as soon as you have secured 504. If we have not heard from you in the next week, we will assume you have fallen in battle. Don’t let us down.” With that, the small figure disappeared and the device turned off.
Felix kicked his horse back into action, this time with some gusto. He needed to find a cave or some other enclosure quickly. He glanced back at the Warrior’s body.
It was time to Awaken him. k12
The next book in The Accidental Mage Serial will be released in early March 2017. If you enjoy reading, we’d love for you to leave a review on Amazon! k12
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The Accidental Mage Serial: The Orb of Agner (Episode 1)
January 2017
The Accidental Mage Serial: The Kobold Thief (Episode 2)
January 2017
The Accidental Mage Serial: Death’s Chasm (Episode 3)
January 2017
The Accidental Mage Serial Episode 4
Coming March 2017