Alden led them down the cliff to the outskirts of the city, following a natural path carved into the icy rock. Justin’s boots crunched over frost-coated stone as he glanced nervously at the darkened ruins. The eerie silence made his heart pound; the faint howl of the wind felt like the whisper of unseen predators. With Vorthak’s Flame active, he felt like a sitting duck, easily seen from a distance. And yet, with the bone-chilling temperatures, he felt as if he didn’t have a choice but to keep it activated.
Thankfully, Alden led them to the interior of a broken tower on the outskirts of the city, which might have once been part of the city wall. Its jagged spire loomed over them. Justin wondered if it had been broken by the elements, or the Harrower himself. Perhaps it was both. Frost crept over the crumbling stone, lending the ruin a ghostly sheen. It was empty and, hopefully, would be a good place to make a detailed plan out of sight.
“Okay,” Justin said, glancing at Alden. “Is there a way for you to join our party? It would make this next part so much easier.”
Alden’s translucent form shimmered faintly, his ethereal edges blurring with each movement. Only the blazing spear in his hand seemed solid. “Alas, I am not of Eyrth anymore, and I have become a part of the Vault besides. We have to settle for simply telling each other about our abilities. Try to leave nothing out. Even a minor boon or skill could be the difference between victory and defeat.”
Over the next couple of hours, they hashed it out. Justin went first, going through every skill, boon, Attribute point, and even piece of gear. He didn’t want to share everything with Alden, but he felt there was no choice. If Alden’s knowledge could save their lives, he had to take the risk. Justin could never forgive himself if things went south for a lack of information.
Lila went next, and Justin learned all the new things she’d picked up. If she’d used her new skills and boons in battle, well, he’d been too busy trying to survive to notice. For one, her Harmonic Amplification boon now conferred a +6 to a chosen Attribute, rather than a +4. Of course, Justin had felt the benefit of the buff during battle, but he’d never formally checked to see just how large the buff was.
She also had access to a new song called Melee Melody, which boosted the party’s damage by 10%—something that could be incredibly powerful. She had earned another boon called Descant Defense. Basically, every time she sang, all damage was reduced by 5% while simultaneously casting Minor Regeneration on the entire party for ten seconds, enough to heal minor wounds. Justin hadn’t even noticed the effect.
She also had a new skill called Encore Performance, which allowed her to refresh the cooldown of any skill once every thirty minutes—useful for when she needed an extra burst of damage and accuracy with her knives. The final boon she had unlocked was called Unbroken Melody, which allowed her singing buffs to persist for an additional five seconds after ending a song. This enabled her to perform one of her skills quickly before resuming her song, never missing a beat.
With all of that combined—plus her Amulet of Everblade that automatically retrieved her knives, her Ring of Eagle Strike that increased her knife-throwing speed by 20%, and her new Harp of Nyriss, which could put hostiles to sleep—she was a force to be reckoned with.
Alden considered their abilities for a moment before speaking. “For a Level 11 and a Level 10, you have some powerful resources to marshal. More than would be expected. It might be enough to punch above our weight, especially with what I can bring to bear.”
“You’re Level 40,” Justin said. “You’ve got to have a billion skills and boons, right?”
“Well, it’s not quite as many as that,” Alden replied with a ghostly smile. “As a spirit, my abilities are a bit more…limited. But I have a powerful repertoire of Harmony Magic, not to mention my melee skills. After what you two have told me, I think we can bring this drake down.”
“Seriously?” Lila asked. “So, it’s not hopeless?”
Alden nodded. “It won’t be easy, but take heart: there is hope. Though Rimefang isn’t as wily as his mother, he’s still quite intelligent. He can react to anything we try. Our main chance of winning is setting up a deadly combo that takes him by surprise and puts us at an enormous advantage from the get-go.”
“All right,” Justin said, leaning forward. “What exactly are we up against?”
“First, there’s his ranged attack. He can breathe chilling frost from his mouth that can kill in seconds. That will freeze you solid, preventing you from moving. Once that happens, you’re as good as dead.”
“I have my Vorthak’s Flame,” Justin said. “While it’s active, I’m immune to freezing.”
“You’ll need that. You might get closer to Rimefang than Lila, but I wouldn’t risk too much. Keep in mind the frost breath will still hurt you, even if you resist frost magic. It will only take a few seconds before you’re beyond all hope.” Alden turned to Lila. “As for you, Lila, you must absolutely be out of range of that attack.”
She nodded grimly. “Thankfully, I’m a ranged fighter. And with my Amulet of Everblade, I’ll never run out of knives.”
“I’ll be the one to draw Rimefang’s attention at the outset,” Alden said. “Though that’s easier said than done. He knows the living are the only ones who can touch the key crystal. And he will never stray too far from it.”
“So, it’s impossible to grab the crystal and run away?” Justin asked.
“Practically impossible. He has to be brought down or incapacitated.”
“Incapacitated,” Lila mused. “Would the Harp of Nyriss work?”
“It’s a powerful tool,” Alden acknowledged, “but it’s based on your Charisma against Rimefang’s. His Charisma is certain to outlevel yours. It might be worth a try if you have a spare moment, or if the primary plan fails. But we shouldn’t count on it.”
“Noted,” Lila said. “What else do we have to watch out for?”
“Well, Rimefang is just as deadly up close. He has razor-sharp claws that can pierce steel. And despite his size, he’s faster than you would guess.” Alden paused. “And, of course, he can fly.”
Justin frowned. “What’s stopping him from just flying and using his frost breath on us?”
“Nothing at all,” Alden said. “Except that if he does a flyby, he will be forced to wheel around—an action that will take at least ten to fifteen seconds before he can come in for another round. The ethereal well is in a large temple in the Tower of Skaldarn. That’s the big tower on the northern island just north of the city, across the bridge. The roof of which has collapsed, and many of the walls are broken, meaning he can pop out at unexpected places. That said, the ruins themselves should slow him down somewhat while providing cover. He won’t be leaving the crystal unattended, even for thirty seconds.” Alden paused again to gather his thoughts. “Rimefang, like all drakes, has a natural resistance to magic and arrows. Those scales of his are harder than steel.”
“I suppose knives won’t do too much either,” Lila asked.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“There are weak spots,” Alden said. “I’ll get to that in a moment. Basically, all kinds of magic won’t work against drakes, with one exception.”
“Fire,” Justin said.
“Yes. That means Starlance is our only chance to bring him down. It can cast Wall of Flames, a Greater Fire Spell. If it hits Rimefang, it’s going to hurt. But Wall of Flames alone won’t be enough. I’m going to have to get in there and actually hit him where it hurts. His underbelly and wings are the vulnerable spots, along with his eyes and mouth. But he’s going to do his damnedest to make sure I don’t hit any of them.” Alden looked at Justin. “That’s where you come in.”
“Me? How?”
“Well, Rimefang has a spell called Frost Veil. It’s a powerful shield that can only be brought down by fire magic. Before we can even think of killing the drake, that shield has to come down.”
Justin and Lila listened attentively. Justin’s stomach churned with equal parts dread and determination. They were up against something monstrous, but Alden’s confident tone gave him a shred of hope.
Alden faced Justin. “When you told me about that Rare Skill you have, Dazzling Display, I thought it would be enough to get the drake’s attention. Enough to Fascinate him.”
“Fascinate?” Justin asked.
“Yes. It’s a status condition where a target can’t look away from you, even if they want to. It’s a kind of social magic that your class gets. Your base Charisma is already 22, which is higher than most classes—even those at Level 30 or higher, if they don’t make the Attribute a priority. My idea is to stack your Charisma as much as possible. That way, your Dazzling Display will be truly impossible to ignore, even by a Level 32 drake like Rimefang.”
“Okay,” Justin said, thinking it through. “I have my cane and my Party Skill—each gives me +1. So that’s 24. Then there’s my Dandy’s Swagger. That’s an easy +2. That gets me to 26. Then there’s Lila’s Bardic Inspiration. That boosts it to 32. Anything else I’m missing?”
“This is where I come in,” Alden said. “I previously mentioned my Harmony Magic spells. Some are quite high level. There are three that will be crucial in this battle. The first is Righteous Shield. It’s a Lesser Harmony spell that doesn’t tank a lot of damage, admittedly. But the nice thing about it is that if an attack is particularly powerful, it will negate all the damage before disappearing. I’ll do my best to make sure that shield is cast at all times, but you must do your part to avoid damage. Battles are chaotic, and if I’m busy casting another spell, I might not save you in time.”
“Makes sense,” Justin said. “What other spells do you have?”
“The second spell is a Major Harmony Spell called Heroic Aura. It’s a Charisma-based spell. Basically, I cast it on the party member with the highest Charisma. That Charisma is then divided by six, rounded down. Everyone gets that number boost to all their Attributes for one minute.”
“Seriously?” Justin asked. “That’s powerful!”
“Indeed,” Alden said. “So, that would give you a +5 boost to all your Attributes…including Charisma, for one minute. Bringing it up to 37, while bringing the rest of your Attributes in line with this Vault’s expectations. So, with Dandy’s Swagger, Bardic Inspiration, and Heroic Aura combined, your Dazzling Display will be almost impossible for Rimefang to ignore. Or at least, that’s the hope.”
“And then what?” Justin asked.
“After you use Dazzling Display, I charge Rimefang and take down his Frost Veil, doing whatever damage I can. With luck, I can bring it down alone. Lila’s job is to use her Razor Focus and Rhythmic Attack and aim for the eyes. It’s a long shot, but if Lila can take out even one eye—and by the grace of the gods, both—it will all but ensure our victory.”
Justin frowned. “What’s stopping Rimefang from just obliterating us if the Fascinate effect wears off early?”
Alden hesitated before answering. “If that happens, we’ll need to switch tactics. You’ll rely on Gentleman’s Sidestep to evade, while Lila uses Acrobatic Tumble to maximize her mobility. At that point, it will become a battle of attrition—dangerous, but not impossible. I continue casting Wall of Flames and attacking where I can. If you have the opportunity, you can try to stagger Rimefang with Poison Barb. He will perfectly understand your speech, so he can be affected by insults. But take great care to stay out of the line of fire. A drake’s wrath can be terrible indeed.”
Justin nodded slowly, his mind racing. The plan sounded as solid as any he’d heard, but it hinged on so many variables. He glanced at Lila. At some point, she’d gotten out the harp and was twisting the strings absently, her expression unreadable. He wondered if she was masking the same doubt he felt.
“It’s not good enough,” she said. “There are too many ifs. We need a backup plan if this fails and my harp doesn’t work.”
Alden was silent for a moment as he considered. “If things go truly wrong, there is…one final contingency.”
“You mentioned a third Harmony Spell,” Justin said, gripping his cane tightly. “Is that some kind of ace in the hole?”
“It can be,” Alden replied, his tone grave. “If the Dazzling Display gambit fails—and let’s pray to the Six that it doesn’t, and the Harp of Nyriss proves ineffective, we’ll have to rely on my most powerful spell: Heroic Demise. A Legendary Harmony spell.”
“And what does that do?” Justin asked breathlessly. “Why not use it at the outset if it’s so powerful?”
“For one reason only,” Alden said. “It guarantees my banishment to the Ether Realm. The spell increases all of my Attributes by +1 every second. This continues for one minute until they are each 60 above baseline. By the end of that minute, I will fade completely into the Ether Realm, unable to return.”
Justin stared at him, stunned. Lila, who had been in the middle of balancing one of her knives on her hand, froze. Justin saw her jaw tighten, her composure slipping for just a moment, before quickly sheathing the weapon with a flourish.
He could not wrap his mind around it. +60 to all Attributes? He understood it was a Legendary spell, but that was beyond imagination.
“Would it guarantee the kill?” Justin asked after a long silence.
“Most likely,” Alden said. “Especially if we’ve already weakened him significantly. But it would also mean that you would have to face Vorthyrn alone, without my help. And Vorthyrn is far more dangerous than Rimefang. She has all of his tricks, and then some.”
“So, we need to avoid the Heroic Demise idea,” Justin said firmly. “We need you for Vorthyrn.”
But in the back of his mind, Justin already knew there was another way to access Alden if he perished here. If Lila could somehow get her hands on Starlance, the weapon had the ability to summon Alden again. He didn’t want to rely on that; for the summoning to even work, Lila’s state had to be critical, and Starlance would be banished along with the ghost. It was far better to do this right the first time.
Alden’s blazing eyes met theirs. “We will only have one shot at this.” He paused, letting the gravity of the situation sink in. “If we are victorious, the ethereal well will produce one or more of the Vault’s rewards. In a Vault like this, the loot is spread across different areas.”
“Like your weapon upgrade in the magma chamber,” Justin said.
“Exactly like that. For defeating a beast as fell as Rimefang, there’s a chance one, or even both of you, will win the prize promised to you. The grand prize awaits in Vorthyrn’s chamber.”
“If you’re right, then I’ll be getting a Platinum-level weapon for defeating Rimefang,” Justin said. “I can only imagine how much of an upgrade that would be.”
“Let that dream spur you on as we fight,” Alden said, his tone sharp with purpose. “Remember your courage—you’ll need it.”
Justin hesitated before asking his next question. “What does the Star of Elara do, anyway? I assume that’s the grand prize for defeating Vorthyrn.”
Alden smiled faintly. “It is among the most powerful Ascendant Artifacts on Eyrth. Its utility is beyond measure. As for what it does, well, it depends on the wearer. Whoever wields it gains immense power. It’s from the Vault of Eternity originally, after all. But if Rimefang proves too much, the odds of freeing the Star become bleak indeed.”
Justin swallowed hard. The weight of the potential reward bore down on him, but so did the threat of failure. He looked at Lila again. At last, he could see the nervousness written on her face. Somehow, it made him feel better, knowing he wasn’t alone.
“We’ve got this,” Lila said quietly, moving beside him. Her voice was steady, though her fingers fidgeted with the edge of her parka. “We’ve been through worse.”
Justin chuckled dryly. “I don’t know if we’ve been through worse. But thanks for the pep talk.”
Alden stood at the entrance, gazing out at the city’s frozen expanse. “Get some rest, if you can. You’ll need every ounce of strength you can muster.”
At that moment, Justin realized just how late it was. It didn’t feel safe to sleep in these old ruins, but they had been marching all day for hours on end, and the cold had a way of sapping one’s strength. Without his Fire Affinity, they would have both been frozen solid by now. He had to keep it active, at least for the outside duration of this Vault.
He and Lila ate some of the frozen fish, knowing they needed strength. They huddled together for shared warmth, throwing their parkas over themselves in the back corner of the tower, as far from the entrance as possible. Alden stood vigil in the narrow archway, having no need for sleep. It was hard to tell just what the spirit was thinking, if anything at all.
Tomorrow, they would face an ice drake. It seemed impossible. Definitely suicidal. But this was where the path had led them, to this frozen northern hellhole.
“Damn it all, Ryak,” he said.
“You’re telling me,” Lila said.
They closed their eyes, and in moments were fast asleep.