“Travelers, organize yourself into your groups! We will make our way outside of the wall to defend the city! Non-combat classes can remain near the gate to act as support!” A man in a modern suit yelled before speaking with the guard next to him.
Immediately, people began to move and arrange themselves. Grayson followed Mikhail as he made his way out the gate.
“Who was that?” Grayson asked the knight.
“Owen,” Mikhail responded, “Head of the guild for Awerth. You know, I think he has to have those suits custom made.”
“I’ll be right back,” Grayson called out before activating Void Call to get to the top of the wall.
Looking out over the open strip of the field surrounding Awerth before the treeline started, Grayson could see a small army of skeletal warriors in various damaged and battered armor carrying swords, spears, and bows. They seemed to be staying to the edge of the tree cover for the moment as Grayson watched, waiting for them to make their move.
“Thog,” Grayson spoke softly.
“Yeah, boss?” Thog replied, clearly right next to Grayson’s head.
“You know anything about these?”
“Aim for the parts that aren’t armored.”
“Excellent advice. Will you be able to affect them at all? Do they have minds?”
“Probably not, but they still got eyes. I can work with that.”
“Good.”
Grayson jumped backward off the wall before teleporting outside the gate. The rest of the Travelers present had formed groups ranging from three to five members with a large group of spellcasters behind, already casting buff spells on others, as a contingent of guards formed a line around them. Owen stood with the guards, his suit now gone, replaced with leather armor, a rapier in one hand. Grayson equipped his breastplate and Ironbreaker Gauntlets before making his way over to Mikhail’s group. He stood with his massive two-handed sword out as Grayson summoned the one-handed variant of his Void Blade.
“Any idea of how strong they are?” Grayson asked.
“No,” Mikhail replied, still looking towards the trees.
Grayson summoned a single Dark Bolt that he shot at one of the closest skeletons. The bolt impacted, shattering the skeleton’s skull into a cloud of dust as its inanimate body dropped to the ground.
TIER 3 WARRIOR OF KRATHIK KILLED
EXP REWARDED: 60 XP
GOLD REWARDED: 100
“They’re only tier three,” Grayson announced.
The war horn blasted in the trees again, and clattering could be heard as the skeletons began to move forward. Arrows flew up from the woods as the mages cast a giant shield over the group, the projectiles scattering harmlessly.
“You’ve got them mad now,” Mikhail chuckled.
With a war cry, Mikhail charged the approaching army, his party following after him. The rest of the warriors followed, and Grayson flashed ahead with Void Call, matching Mikhail’s pace. They crashed into the skeletons like a hammer, Mikhail spinning his massive sword in an arc, cutting down three skeletons instantly and sending more scattering. Grayson dodged and weaved as his Sword Dance activated, using one hand to slash with his Void Blade as the other sent out Dark Bolts into the mass of undead bodies. His Void Shield floated behind him, covering his back and the invisible Throg on it, as the mind demon loosed shimmering energy waves out. Grayson could see skeletons lunging towards him but swinging far to his right or left as faintly visible copies of himself mirrored his motions offset from his real person by feet.
TIER 3 WARRIOR OF KRATHIK KILLED x4
EXP REWARDED: 240 XP
GOLD REWARDED: 400
TIER 3 WARRIOR OF KRATHIK KILLED x6
EXP REWARDED: 360 XP
GOLD REWARDED: 600
TIER 3 WARRIOR OF KRATHIK KILLED x2
EXP REWARDED: 120 XP
GOLD REWARDED: 200
Grayson waded through the skeletons, cutting down dozens and then hundreds. He barely took any hits as Throg’s illusions continued to fool the skeletons. His Void Blade danced like a living creature, weaving through the cadavers, separating them at the joints like he was slicing through paper. Explosions lit up the night sky around him as the spellcasters rained down lighting and fire. Mikhail was knocked to one knee for a moment after killing a skeleton, but after a slight aura of light appeared around him, he sprung back up with a new fury and began hacking away again. After what felt like hours of fighting, Grayson pulled back to the main line in front of the gate. As Grayson watched, more skeletons continued to pour out of the woods like a hoard of ants. Owen made his way over to him, shouting commands over his shoulder to the mages.
“Are you hurt?” The older man asked.
“No,” Grayson sputtered between heaving breaths, “Just need to catch my breath.”
“They just don’t stop coming.”
“Something’s not right.”
“What do you mean?”
“If they had a force this large, why didn’t they surround the city? They could have easily overwhelmed us by coming from all sides.”
“This is a game, I suppose. Something to test us.”
“But test us how? By seeing how long we can last against an unending assault?”
“I guess. I don’t really have the luxury of answers.”
“Why would they even attack here? There’s a giant barrier to stop them. If anything, it would be better to attack-”
Grayson cut himself off as he realized what was happening.
“Hold the line here. I’m going to stop the other attack.”
“Young man, I am in charge here.”
Grayson ignored him and sprinted back into the city.
“What’s going on, boss?” Throg called from his back.
“I’m guessing here, and I’m praying I’m wrong, but if you were going to attack a city with half a wall, would you attack the wall or the half?” Grayson asked, using Void Call sporadically to aid his wild sprinting.
“That’s not good, boss,” Thog said, realization in his voice.
“I know. Everyone has been at the gate the entire time.”
Grayson arrived at the far side of the city to find it still intact and free of skeletons.
“I was wrong,” Grayson sighed, dropping to his knees as his legs screamed in pain from crossing the city so quickly.
“You were not, but you are earlier than I expected.”
Grayson raised his head to see a massive figure standing at the edge of the city limit. He stood nearly ten feet tall, rippling muscles across his arms and bare chest aside from a pauldron on his left shoulder that seemed to be made from a bear’s skull. He wore a bear pelt wrapped around his waist and carried a battle axe in each hand, a gleaming spike on the head, and a spiked hammer on the back. Scars marked his entire body, even across his shaved head. Dark gray eyes stared at Grayson as he stood back to his feet.
“Krathik?” Grayson asked
“You would be so lucky,” The colossal man scoffed.
“Then who are you?”
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“I am Bjalki, Krathik’s War Dog.”
“So you’re here to fight or what?”
As Grayson raised his Void Blade, Bjalki bellowed a laugh and hefted his two axes. They stared at each other momentarily before Bjalki crashed forward with a howling roar. Grayson charged to meet him, throwing his Void Blade up to stop an axe swinging down towards him, but the blade shattered as the axe crashed through it and sank into Grayson’s shoulder.
HP: 4,628/5,100
Grayson activated Void Call to teleport himself behind Bjalki, summoning another Void Blade to stab down at his exposed back. The blade had barely sunk in before Bjalki spun around, lighting fast to bat Grayson away with the flat of his axe blade. Grayson was sent sprawling, slamming into the ground and sliding into the side of a house. His head was spinning slightly as he pushed himself back up.
“When Krathik said he wanted to test you, I expected more,” Bjalki sneered.
Grayson mumbled a curse before running at the massive warrior again. Bjalki laughed and dropped into a crouch, but Grayson went lower, sliding underneath his axes and activating Ironbreaker, slamming an enhanced punch into the side of Bjalki’s knee. The blow hit with a crack, sending his leg flying out to the side, leaving him off balance. Grayson jumped up and slashed across his back, leaving a deep cut. Bjalki roared in pain and rolled forward, spinning around and hurling an axe at Grayson, but he had already activated Void Call again and disappeared from where the axe sunk into the wall.
“You are starting to impress me,” Bjalki growled as he swung down at Grayson with his remaining axe.
“Glad to show out,” Grayson said, spinning to the side.
“I said ‘starting’” Bjalki rebuked, “But you are the first to strike me in a long time.”
Grayson saw his opening with Sword Dance and slipped under Bjalki’s weaponless arm to activate Ironbreaker again and swing into his side. Grayson’s hit landed with a deep thud as his hand ached from the powerful hits. Bjalki groaned but brought his elbow down into Grayson’s back, driving him to the ground. Grayson rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the warrior’s massive foot coming down on top of him. Void Call sent him across the open street as Grayson summoned Dark Bolts and began to fling them at the huge man, but Bjalki had positioned himself back around to his other axe, which he pulled out of the wall and began to spin the two blades around to cut the bolts out of the air.
HP: 3,998/5,100
“Thog,” Grayson whispered, “Can you make multiple copies of me that can move around?”
Immediately, images of Grayson began to spring up and run around, some dodging and some attacking Bjalki. The large fighter began swinging wildly at the illusionary clones, his axes passing through them as Grayson started to attack, mixing himself with the forms. His Void Blade dagger sliced Bjalki’s arms, chest, legs, and all over his body as Grayson weaved through his twin images. Sometimes, he would copy their motions, merging with them, and other times, split away, leaving the large man confused about who the real Grayson was. Bjalki roared with rage as he cleaved his axe, sending out a wave of energy that slashed through all the copies, causing them to disperse and leaving a significant slash across Grayson’s chest. His new breastplate took most of the hit, but it was split in two across the front. Bjalki stopped attacking and stood in the center of the road as Grayson dropped to the ground, heaving.
“This is over,” Bjalki stated, “You forced me to use a skill which was against my orders, therefore, you are victorious. My master will contact you.”
“The hell does that-” Grayson started but was cut off when Bjalki’s form flashed bright white and was gone.
“Did he just quit on me?” Grayson asked the air.
----------------------------------------
Soon after Bjalki left, the skeletons stopped pouring out of the woods, and the remaining Travelers cleared them. Six Travelers had died in the fighting. Grayson knew that meant more than eighty others had survived, but he still mourned those who had died. He did not know them, but he knew they were people from his world who would never see whatever family they had and would not make it back if there was some chance of that. They buried them outside the city, near the woods. Owen said a few words about each of them, but aside from their teams, no one really knew them. Later that day, Grayson had finished clearing out all his equipment, let Arina repair his breastplate, and restocked his healing potions. He double-checked his map to confirm the route to Harbortown before making his way out of his room. Downstairs, outside the inn, was Owen and Mikhail, waiting for him. Owen motioned Mikhail forward as Mikhail nodded his thanks to the man.
“I am just here to say my goodbyes to you,” Mikhail said, “And to wish you luck in your search for friend and family.”
Mikhail held his hand out, and Grayson shook it as he pulled him in.
“Be careful, brother,” Mikhail whispered, “The guild is not always as honest as those here.”
Mikhail let go of Grayson and clapped his hand on his shoulder before walking away. Owen stepped up to Grayson.
“I am here to thank you for the other night. I don’t know what you did, but it seemed to stop all that madness, so we and the city are indebted to you. I cannot give you guild gold without authorization unless in emergency situations, but items slip through the cracks of paperwork all the time,” Owen said.
Grayson saw the flash on an inventory opening, and three items appeared.
“This is a diagram for the teleportation anchor here in Awerth. If you can find an operational teleportation seal, this will get you back here. These are Boots of Roaming, to help you on your travels. They’ll help you move faster on open roads.”
He handed the rolled-up sheet of paper to Grayson and the boots before holding up a simple-looking ring with a twisting design in the band and a red gem in the center.
“This is extremely valuable, so never tell anyone you got it from me or the guild. This was just a wildly lucky drop from a monster. This is a Ring of Last Resort. If you are hit and reduced to one percent of your total hit points, it will activate and hold you at those hit points for one minute. This won’t stop someone from cutting your head off, but it will keep you alive in a deadly battle.”
Owen placed the ring in Grayson’s hand and closed his fingers around it.
“You risked your life for this city and its people. If that can one day save your life, I will consider it a debt repaid.”
“Thank you, Owen,” Grayson said, humbled by the man's generosity, holding out his hand.
“I wish you luck on your travels,” Owen said as he shook Grayson’s hand.
Grayson left the city and followed the main road south. When he felt he was far enough away, he opened his inventory to equip his new items before checking his notifications and stats.
CITY QUEST - KRATHIKIAN INVASION (COMPLETED)
REWARDS: 1,219 XP
ADDITIONAL REWARDS: BLACK TONGUE
BOOTS OF ROAMING EQUIPPED
“ROAMING STEPS” (TIER 1) UNLOCKED
ROAMING STEPS - PASSIVE SKILL
WHEN TRAVELING ON ROADWAYS, YOUR AGL INCREASES TO 150
NAME: GRAYSON (TRAVELER)
LEVEL: VOID PRIEST 75 (RANK 3)
EXP: 23,215/60,000
STATS
STR: 73
AGL: 52
WLL: 64
ALR: 35
SAN: 100
SPECIALITY
NONE
ATTRIBUTES
RES: LIGHTNING
IMN: DARK
VUL: HOLY
AFF: BEAST - MONSTROUS
SKILLS
ROAMING STEPS TIER 1, VOID BLADE TIER 1, VOID SHIELD TIER 1, VOID SERVANT TIER 1, EYES OF THE VOID TIER 1, VOID CALL TIER 2, DARKBOLT TIER 3, CORRUPTING TOUCH TIER 5, IRONBREAKER TIER 5, SWORD DANCE OF THE VOID TIER 5, LIFESTEALER TIER 6
Grayson also took out his additional reward from the city quest, Black Tongue. It was a solid black sword with a wicked-looking curling, spiked crossguard. The hilt was wrapped in soft, black leather, and the pommel was also a large spike. Faint dark red veins spread along the blade as they gently pulsated.
BLACK TONGUE
STR +5
AGL +10
“LIFESTEALER” (TIER 6) UNLOCKED
“CORRUPTING TOUCH” (TIER 5) UNLOCKED
LIFESTEALER - PASSIVE SKILL
THE WEAKNESS OF YOUR FOES IS YOUR STRENGTH. THIS BLADE INFLICTS BLEED DAMAGE TO ENEMIES OVER TIME. ABSORB 10% OF DAMAGE DONE AS HP ADDED TO YOUR TOTAL.
CORRUPTING TOUCH - PASSIVE SKILL
INFERIOR BEINGS DARE NOT ATTACK YOU. ANY ENEMIES KILLED 1 TIER OR GREATER BELOW YOU GENERATE A SHADE TO FIGHT BY YOUR SIDE FOR A LIMITED TIME.
BLACK TONGUE (SWORD) IS COMPATIBLE WITH VOID BLADE (TIER 1)
WOULD YOU LIKE TO COMBINE YOUR ITEM AND SKILL?
Y/N
Grayson accepted the prompt and Black Tongue was shrouded in shadows before disappearing from his hand.
VOID BLADE HAS INCREASED TO TIER 3
Grayson summoned his Void Blade, and Black Tongue appeared in his hand. He dispelled it and summoned his dagger, and it formed his standard Void Blade, meaning he could not change the size of Black Tongue when he summoned it. He dispersed his sword again and looked down at his new boots. They looked like simple leather boots, but they were very comfortable. He stepped forward and felt Roaming Steps activate as he walked, as the trees rushed past him as he kept moving. He smiled as the countryside around him began to turn to streaks of color while he picked up speed until he was running, and his surroundings turned into an indeterminable haze before he suddenly snapped back to his normal speed, stumbling and slamming into a tree. He looked back to see the turn in the road where he had flown off.
“Stay on the road. Noted,” Grayson said.
Grayson brushed the dirt off his pants as he prepared to start down the road again, planning to walk at a pace that still allowed him to keep an eye on where he was going when he heard a strange noise from the woods. A faint, deep humming resonated out from deeper into the forest. Grayson weaved through the trees to find a peculiar cave-like hole in the ground from which a buzzing hum emanated. Grayson leaned down to look in the hole when a message appeared over the opening.
TIER 4 DUNGEON - THE CAVERN KING’S DOMAIN
RECOMMEND LEVEL: 70+
REWARDS: XP, GOLD, RANDOM ITEM x2, CAVERN KING’S CROWN
Grayson reread the last line. Random items could be anything, but he saw it as either something useful to him or something he could sell. He was also interested in the Cavern King’s Crown and what it would do.
“Throg, thoughts on a dungeon?”
“Don’t get trapped in one.”
“Excellent advice.”
Grayson smiled and jumped into the hole.