“What do you mean stay here?” Calrin said a day after the big fight with the Eye Hoarder. They had collected Lyenn’s after a surprisingly long search. Xane for one wouldn’t tell anyone but he had stored more than a few eyes in his ring. The urge to keep things for potential use far greater in intensity than the macabre feel of storing a bunch of eyes. So he labeled the box he stored them in ‘marbles’.
“We have what we came for. Perhaps fighting another day would be best.” Calrin said hesitantly. He knew that Xane wanted this over with.
Lynn piped in, “I want my body back more than anyone. But we don’t have to fight here. We could always wait for them to find out we already took it, even leave a funny note telling them off for it.”
I have a plan. Is all he said to her before replying to Calrin the same thing but with more context. “I have a plan. We play dead. I thi-”
Pyn was next to interrupt, “Play dead? What do you mean play dead. What an absurd idea. No way anyone that can clearly just look at our bodies would be fooled by that.” Xane just let him rant.
Xane felt smug high on that victory and the plan he came up with the night before. “You’d be correct if I didn’t happen to buy a powerful illusion plate.”
“I remember you buying that. But Xane, those only do so much. They will be able to sense us if they have a skill or perk that can do that. Or an item.
“It is risky. But I think that the energies in this area. Including the eye we just found and the parts I already have will drown out things like that. At least when it comes to the Lord.” Xane said knowing the next argument was going to be.
“And what about others? And what if that doesn’t work.” Calrin said though Xane could tell the gears in his head were churning thinking it over.
“The boon. I think it works on everything. I’ve reread it a few times and think that it will work. I think what it truly does is mask our auras as if they were never there. Makes it rather hard to notice. Like invisibility but for auras. And only a supremely powerful creature can sense it. Add a good illusion plate into the mix and I think we have a good chance of landing a crucial surprise attack on them.”
Xane paused for but a moment holding up his finger. “I know what you might be thinking. Why? Because we might be severely under power.
Xane had leveled up 3 times after that fight. The creature was strong enough to give him a large boost in experience. This meant he was now level 5 in his class. Which, similar to personal levels, was his first milestone. Unlike personal level milestones he didn’t get extra stat points. He got to choose another perk.
He had the old list from before but some new ones. Sadly he didn’t get the bonus of being able to choose two anymore. Just a one time thing apparently. Being able to choose from one more than normal was also gone. So he had to choose from only 3 this time. But they were all interesting.
Congratulations! After trials and tribulations you have reached your first class milestone. You may choose a new perk.
Perks:
Dodge 2: Upon activation of perk you will dodge and become intangible.
-75% damage while dodge rolling.
Cost: 50 stamina or mana
Deadeye: Mark a target. Once marked, the caster can not choose another target until the target dies or duration elapses. Target takes 15% additional damage from castor. Castor can sense the target in a small radius and tell which direction they are in.
Radius: 120 feet
Duration: 12 hours
Smoke Screen: Toss a magically infused grenade that causes a smoke screen to form in a radius around the chosen area. This heavily debilitates the sight of those affected. Only those with a high enough perception or skill/perk can see through it. Maybe choose 5 others to be able to see through it. Doesn’t affect caster.
Radius: 120 feet
Debilitating affect based on intelligence of castor against the intelligence of affected.
The last two seemed to really synergies together. You mark a target and then throw the smoke screen to confuse and blind the target.
Just the off chance that the smoke screen would affect the Lord would be useful to all the party. Since he could select them all to be able to see through it. But he assumed that they would be able to see right through it. Xane had insane intelligence but couldn’t bank on the Lord’s being lower and not having a perception skill or perk to boost it further. It was something he would choose later if something better didn’t pop up.
Next he threw out was dodge roll. He really liked it and didn’t even know he could upgrade it. The thought that fully upgraded would give him 100% or something even cooler made him want to choose it straight away. But in the end he just couldn’t. It like smoke screen would have to wait till later.
Dead Eye though was a now brainer. If it upgraded like dodge roll then he might purely upgrade that. His ability to deal single target damage was one of his strong suits. And being able to dish out 15% more on a target would be greatly appreciated. And it felt appropriate since he would be dealing with the Lord. And everything would help in the end.
“So what is your plan exactly?” Pyn added as nothing was being said for 20 seconds.
As if waiting for such a thing Xane went on. “I haven’t gotten that far. But-I have people with good minds that can flesh things out. Teambuilding or something like that.”
“This is going to take a few days.” Calrin said begrudgingly.
The Lord as they liked to call themselves now sped themselves and 5 others using water magic to an island. They sensed it. Knew it was here. But also sensed something else. The same. But even more powerful. A higher concentration. This worried them. “Fan out. I don’t like this.”
The extras they brought along for cannon fodder started to look around while their guide for this accursed land came to her side. The Lord wished that more had survived the trip but they brought them for a reason and the pirates served that purpose. But the Lord wasn’t so cruel. They made sure the strongest of them survived the trip. The least they could do.
Garrith Markins walked up beside the Lord, “Lord Iron?” The Lord nodded for them to continue. “What is wrong? Think that this place is guarded by something? Has the object we seek already taken?”
The Lord spoke candidly “No Garrith. I feel not one but two sources here. I wasn’t informed of this and that makes me suspicious.”
“Could someone else be here? Could they be doing the same thing as you?” Garrith asked.
“I wasn’t told of such. Then again the accursed gods never give all the details. When I’m a god I’ll do as I damn well please. And all who follow me will become gods in their own right.”
“Indeed.” Though if the Lord deigned to look, the man didn’t look like he agreed. But why would the Lord? Everything was falling together nicely. Even if it was someone else. They would squash them beneath their boots. Take the prize they so graciously brought to them.
Before much time had passed one of the two pirates yelled back. “Lord, we found something you are going to want to see.”
What the Lord saw both confused and pleased them. Leaning against a pedestal that looked remarkably undamaged was some kid. One of their arms was cleaning cut off with a huge gash across their chest. The boy was clearly dead. And clearly was the source of the pull the Lord felt. The fight looked old. Possibly a month or two at least. The Lord didn’t care.
They had the urge they had the first time seeing the body they now inhabited. The desire to take it. Take what was rightfully theirs. But something else felt off. They just couldn’t put their finger on it.
The kid wasn’t the only body. In the battle area were bloody messes of 3 others. One that looked familiar for some reason but their head was missing. They put it out of mind. It didn’t matter. They had what they wanted.
The pull was too much to withstand. It felt like not 2 but 3 pieces were in one area. It was intoxicating. They walked forward without much more though. As they reached for the eye it moved away as hundreds more appeared in the air.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
This didn’t scare the Lord. But caused the two who were flanking at a distance to run up forward to protect their Lord. Before any of them could inspect the creature a large explosion spawned from the pedestal as the sources of the pull moved away.
As the smoke settled two pirates lay dead on the ground closest to the epicenter. 3 pirates and the Lord survived the attack by some magical means. That didn’t mean they weren’t damaged. “It’s a-” Before the Lord could finish a hail of arrows. Hundreds in total rained from the air as another smaller explosion rocked the area.
Xane had gotten a good look at the Lord. The one masquerading in Lynn’s body. And was surprised at what he saw. Lynn was a tall humanoid race that he hadn’t encountered before. Similar to an elf she had long pointy ears. Yet it came straight to the sides of her head. She had light pink hair that turned more white as it went down. She was kinda cute if not for the monster that lurked inside the body.
“I’m surprised my body is in such good condition.” Lynn thought to him. “Please keep the head intact. That is all I need to move back in.”
Well it is about to be heavily damaged. And yes we all are aiming for the chest area.
Xane activated the explosives that were hidden around the pedestal. The illusion plate made it look normal. They had to actually have the eye there. But instead of the Eye Hoarder it was Xane holding it. And would run off as the fake Hoarder materialized and the explosives triggered.
Xane frowned at how little their surprise attack did. Only two pirates were killed with how many resources they put into that attack. The closest to the Lord surviving due to some magical barrier that sprung up the moment the explosion happened. Even so that protection was used up.
Part 2 was in full swing. Huntress who was waiting for this moment used her last multiplying arrow as well as her perk to make the sky cloud over with arrows. And Xane let loose his infused shot and full cylinder in quick succession aiming purely for the Lord. His Dead Eye perk already on her the moment she got to the pedestal. He even made sure it was him who placed and activated the trap in case that two got the bonus 15%.
That wasn’t the end of part 2. Huntress used one of her most costly perks. At least costly when so many arrows were used. Each and every arrow sprung vines and started to wrap around the limbs of all who were trapped in the middle of the death area.
A ball of vines started to condense as it hopefully would crush those within. Huntress dropped to the ground as she used up almost every drop of stamina and mana she had to pull this off. Drinking recovery potions but she wouldn’t be in the fight for a half minute or more.
They watched as the ball condensed to half its normal size. The party for the barest moment hoped that it had actually worked. This was dashed as an explosion of water poured from the vines. It quickly formed together to make 5 humanoid shapes and the Lord.
At first Xane couldn’t see the 2 other pirates. But quickly noticed that two of the five were the pirates. But they had a watery texture to them now. “She has access to one of my abilities. It allows me to enhance my followers, making them faster and more fluid. Higher agility and dexterity. As well as taking less damage. I don’t know how powerful their version is though.”
Xane relayed this quickly using the portion of the feat he got from getting his intelligence to 200. He didn’t use telepathy much, having no real use for it. But now was the time. The only problem was that they couldn’t talk back.
Calrin and Pyn you take the water things. Me and Huntress will take the Lord.
The two melee fighters didn’t hesitate as they both activated respective perks and ran in. Xane did the same. He felt a surge of power as he activated his feat Stats for All. And shot his next infused shot with the rest of his bullets.
They all slammed into a watery barrier that evaporated as the shots hit. “I see now.” The Lord cried out. A bit of mania lurking in. “I can feel it with these tricks and illusions gone. The old goddess of the ocean is here. This will be a glorious day to become a god.” With that a slash of a whip made from water lashed out towards Xane.
He had to dodge but still somehow got entangled in the whip. Before he could do anything he was pulled to the side. Huntress was still recovering but still shot a few basic arrows in the Lord's direction. All being destroyed doing nothing.
Xane was slammed around as if the whip was a long arm and he was a toy. He though had something for this. He threw out a few items he bought. They would disrupt spells in its area.
The trick worked and the whip faltered. They were quickly used up only lasting a few seconds. This was enough for Xane to fire. This time he didn’t fire magical rounds. Instead he shot his runed and enchanted bullets. They had one purpose and one purpose only. Breaking through magical shields.
They streaked through the air faster than one could process a thought. All slamming into the chest of the Lord. A stunned look on their face. That of which quickly turned mad. “This will be fun then. The little bug and god will die before a true god.”
Lances and blades of water came out one by one as Xane nimbly dodged. And reloaded and fired as quickly as he was able. The bullets didn’t do as much as his magical version but they didn’t care about shields allowing them to deal more and more damage.
This only seemed to anger them more as they noticed their barriers doing very little. So instead of keeping them up they focused on destroying the little bug that thought itself mighty enough to fight a god.
When the magic wasn’t doing it a wall of water forced its way towards Xane. Lynn had warned him of this a long time ago. Xane had a counter. He took out a small wall that had spikes at the bottom. He slammed it into the ground and braced himself. It held beautifully all the water being diverted to the sides and over it.
The eyes of the Lord lit up as it realized its mistake. “I can’t use the gods' gifts against the god who knows them so well. Let’s see how good you are, bug.”
“Won’t even ask me my name?” Xane said calmly. “It’s Xane by the way.”
The Lord didn’t give a vocal response. Istead rushing forward boosted by water towards Xane. If Xane hadn’t boosted his abilities through stats for all and a potion he wouldn’t have time to react. But he did. And his sword met a watery blade as tough as metal. He still wasn’t strong enough to fully brace for it so the water blade cut into his shoulder. The armor holding but just barely.
Xane fired point blank with his other hand into the chest of the Lord. An infused shot that blew them both back. Though Xane also dodged at the same time taking minimal damage. The Lord sneered. Something that Xane hadn’t noticed before was that Lynn had long fangs. Made the form feel a bit more feral than before.
“Lucky shot. But tricks will only get you so far.” The tear in the chest started to heal as water poured over it. The Lord grinned as Xane showed annoyance to the healing. “I am a god. You can not kill me.”
The Lord went back in. Turning into water and splitting into two streams. This was a ploy to confuse Xane on which was the true one. But the Lord wasn’t the only one that felt the pull. And Xane also had Dead Eye on them. Quick as a flash the water blade came whipping out from the one on the left. Quicker still was the blade that met it.
Again Xane unloaded his bullets. Clearly the Lord learned from their mistakes as the watery body had quickly turned back into a stream after the attack. Another slash, another block. Sadly the strength of the Lord was greater than Xane’s. Even with the boosts he had. Xane calculated at least a 70 point difference.
But Xane felt that he was faster. Even without the boost he might be able to pull it off. It was a war of attrition as both fought each other. But unlike the Lord Xane couldn’t heal constantly. It seemed like an endless river of healing. All damage quickly disappeared.
Xane needed a breather and used another item. It pushed up a barrier from his feet that pushed back the Lord. Finally with Xane not in the thick of it Huntress unleashed her attacks. Arrow after arrow soared through the air. All expensive arrows that created a glorious array of different elemental and magical effects.
Blasts of lighting shocked the Lord, making them twitch for the barest moment. Normal arrows slammed into the Lord’s chest creating vines that stopped their movement. When the Lord pulled the same trick from before turning themselves into water an arrow frosted in cold solidified them. Before it could thaw or do anything about it another arrow exploded shattering the ice sculpture into hundreds of bits.
This style of attack was costly but effective. The Lord staggered as they couldn’t adapt to the change in damage. And their favored form countered by the arrows. Huntress by name was a hunter and learned from their prey. Watching the fight and learning from Lyenn knew exactly what to do.
As the ice melted and the water started to form back together Huntress threw an orb that exploded into a pool worth of oily substance. It mixed with the water making it harder to form back together. The next instant flame was started as the oil blazed to life.
“We need my body intact.” Cried out Lyenn.
I doubt this will kill them. Xane argued back. At least he hoped not. The plan was to incapacitate not kill.
His words were true though. A tornado of water formed from the flames flinging the still on fire portions around. When it stopped out came a bedraggled looking Lord of Iron. They breathe heavily as they speak. “Nice try.” They said laughing.
“Watch out.” Hatchet yelled from behind. Xane spun to find Huntress impaled from many directions with spears of water. She was far too weak after using all her pools and couldn’t get out of the way fast enough.
Calrin called out as well. “Huntress no.” He had finished off his enemies and was helping Pyn when it happened. Though Xane saw that somehow there were more of the water creatures seemingly walking out of the water.
The distraction was exactly what the Lord wanted to happen. Xane felt the blade bite deep into his gut and was pushed to the ground. Another blade was formed and shoved into Xane’s chest. And another in his leg. Xane’s gun was kicked away.
Xane cried out in pain. “I told you I was a god.” The Lord said the mania was in full swing. The only saving grace being they sounded at least a bit tired but that could just be the insanity that was quickly forming.
“No…you aren’t.” Xane tried to say but only mumbles and blood came out.
“What?”
“I-I said no you aren’t” Still a mumble.
The Lord turned their head and put their ear closer. “Try one more time.”
Xane talked with more vigor. “I said-” He bit down on the ear dangling towards him and activated Gretti’s Pain, the full force being slammed straight into the ear drums.
At the same time he let out six spell hampering items. All he had. The swords washed away and the attempt to flee from the Lord was stopped. With the Lord incapacitated Xane forced shackles and a collar around their neck. Both items that stopped the use of spells, skills, and abilities. They weren’t usually something one can get. But it was the last gift from the priest back in crescent city. There was one last item though. A simple long cloth that was to be wrapped around the arms with the shackles.
When the Lord finally came too they looked around in shock. They tried everything in their arsenal to try and escape. Nothing worked. How could this happen? They were a god. They were powerful. They had one. They had the little bug known as Xane right where they wanted them. They were going to kill the bug's friends and force the bug to watch.
They were a god. But why couldn’t they feel that power? No mortal magic should be able to inhibit a god's power. Then they noticed the cloth. It wasn’t normal. It was filled with a crescent moon and stars. The god of the moon? I can’t be. They wouldn’t have lied to them. Was this all a trap? The lord struggled. They would escape.
They never had a chance to do so. Another voice formed in their head. “Get the hell out of my body.” The voice said. No, not just another voice. It was thee voice. It was the fallen god trying to take what was rightful the Lords.
The Lord wouldn’t let it happen. The Lord would fight. They had to fight. They will- Feel nothing. Why couldn’t they feel it? The power was muted by the cloth but is gone now.
“Bye shitface.”
The Lord shot one last confused cry before their entire existence was erased.