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“We all die but not all adventurers truly live” - Salvatore, The 3rd Adventurer King
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The world finished materializing around him and Kazim, bare fist raised, searched for something to punch. He found that something in a blank grey gravestone.
“Ow!” I’m actually an idiot! Why had he slammed the gator into that tree? It could have been any other tree!
Another thought occurred to him then. He could have used Rage Mode, as a source of light. The bright crimson aura that flowed from him would have helped. Even if only for three damn seconds!
As he shook his hand, he pushed self pity aside for the moment as he tried to figure out where the hell he even was. The moment the gator killed him, he had ripped his headset off in frustration and logged off.
It was an early, humid morning in The Murk. The sky was a painting of brilliant orange. More gravestones of various sizes and colors decorated the area, around and in between beautiful, perfectly clipped hedges and skinny trees top with a plentiful amount of healthy looking leaves. It was in total contrast to Darkwick Woods’ mucky looking greenery.
I know this place. Kazim’s boots clapped white cobble as he scanned the Chas’dan cemetery. Tall white stone pillars topped with statues of a sprouting plant, the sigil of Chas’dan, marked entrances to towering gravestones which probably held some late king or queen.
For such a place of grief, Kazim found it a thing of beauty. It was his first sight of Helm when he first spawned. With a wool shirt and tan trousers, he had wandered the maze-like graveyard for an hour or so before he finally found the road that led to Chas’dan.
He nearly tripped on a piece of stone that stuck out from the rest. As he looked down towards it, he realized he wore the same wool shirt and trousers from before! A thought occurred to him and he opened his inventory to discover everything was gone. Every..single..item!
He passed a hand through his dark hair, ripping the hair tie out in frustration. So, this was death in Helm? Minus ten Valor and the loss of your entire inventory?
“Brutal fucking..!” Kazim wanted to rip his hair out then. Instead, he stuffed his hair tie in his inventory. The game had beaten him once again. If he had known the cost of death, he definitely would have been more careful. Master Fury didn’t teach adventurers about death as a way of motivating them to focus more on surviving but Kazim would have at least liked a mention of this. Although, he could’ve always just asked his friends.
The thought of his friends returned him to the depths of self pity. He would be kicked out, no doubt. About time. There was no need to hold them back any longer. Noir had long made her ambitious to be the best guild in Helm clear. A guild to rival the talked about Wind Guards, the Earthdancers, Rising Hammer….
He sighed with relief as he found the dirt road, shrouded by a line of trees with leaves that nearly covered them whole. From an hour, to only minutes. There was something to finally be proud of.
Before jogging down the stone steps that led to the road, he paused and looked back at a statue which marked the rose spotted entrance of the cemetery.
The statue of Mother was at least six feet tall. It held a slender woman of white ceramic. Her long gown and curled hair cascaded and waved as if facing an unbearable wind. Her blank face, void of any sort of facial features, stared up at a smooth stone which floated above her small, cupped hands.
He found himself walking to stand before her. A small display came to meet him, bearing the inscription which rested below the woman on a rectangular plinth.
Statue of Mother, the goddess of Helm (Chas’dan Cemetery)
Our beloved Mother, who forged the world with powers unmatched, who guided the winds and man against the chaos, who birthed champions to continue the fight as chaos reigned. May the winds ease her path.
How had he missed this juicy piece of lore before? There was a similar statue of Mother in Chas’dan, but it was inside the castle gates and unless the mage king wanted audience, there was no getting past those burly Flourish Knights who guarded the gates with their Darwick spears and antler helms that they’d be happy to ram anyone with.
After deciding to join Helm, he had done a little research to get an understanding on the whole ‘Nevermore’ business that the Helm developers seemed to enjoy shoving in their advertising.
Mother created Helm and its ‘mirror’ world, Never. Never got a mind of its own, literally, and started a cosmic dimensional war with Mother with the beings called Nevermore. She won but died in the process, not before ‘birthing’ the players of the game, who were the beta testers during the game’s early stages almost five years ago. The ‘champions’.
Too bad the Nevermore were gone now! Apparently a year before he joined, The Tribunal and its coalition of adventurers finally destroyed the Nevermore and classes like the Chaoswalker for good and they haven’t been seen since. This transferred to the real world too in hundreds of angry posts and videos of those unfortunate players expressing their frustrations with dying and losing their characters forever to the ‘good guys’. Why were they getting stronger? To fight gators and raid dungeons forever?
He could not have joined at a worst time.
Kazim turned his eyes to the stone Mother cupped preciously. He had no idea what the thing was but it seemed familiar. Oval and smooth, it looked like the stone that Nyx always wore around her neck on a string. She always seemed to hide it in her shirt.
What was it called again? Chasmum? Chacum? No, that wasn’t right. Peddlers in the city always advertised their wide array of the….whatever it was called. Especially towards the mage adventurers.
Some Stone Mage business. With a light shrug, he kneeled before Mother, one knee with an arm across a leg before closing his eyes. A lot of NPC’s and even players loved to pray and thank the ‘Winds’ for a bit luck or...something. Gale would always joke about how the developers were the ‘Winds’ and that they were always watching, ready to screw you over if you left their good will.
Well he was done fighting them. If they wanted a champion, he would be that champion. He’d play nice...for now.
“May the winds ease your path, Mother.”
The cemetary was silent save for chirping birds. Nothing.
With a sigh, he stood and turned to go. He didn’t know what he expecte-
…..And may they ease yours, Wrath Knight.
A yelp that could shatter glass escaped him as he nearly leaped from his boots. He whipped his head around in a frenzy only to find that he was still alone. What the hell? Was he losing his mind? The female voice sounded like it came from inside his head. He rushed to the statue, looking it up, down, and around. A wave of his hands across Mother’s face produced no results.
“Hunting for gold there, champ?” A familiar voice suddenly said. For second time, Kazim leaped and turned to find his friends. Dirty, soaked, and tattered, they each held differing expressions. His mind raced.
Gale, unhooded to display his bald head, held an anger in his sharp, amber gaze that Kazim had never seen before. Nyx, brimmed cap ajar and face pinker than bubblegum, looked ready to freeze him with her blue daggers for eyes before setting him on fire. Noir…
Kazim gulped as he forced himself to meet his guildmaster in the eyes. Her fair browns just seemed tired, but her nostrils flared as if she were fuming internally.
“Hey...Guys, I…I’m sorry...I.” The words fell faster than he did to the gator. He raised a hand in surrender before letting it fall to the side. “Just kick me out alre-”
“Bahahahaha!” Gale’s lean body bent forward as his body shook with laughter.
Huh..? “Gale! Godammit! Can you play along for one second?! This was your idea!” Noir said. Her lips quivered as if holding back a laugh. She succumbed quickly and leaned on Gale to laugh along with him.
“My bad, my bad! I couldn’t stop it! He looked like he was about to cry, haha!” Gale managed through contagious laughter.
A smile found its way on the dignified Stone Mage as well but she still raised a gloved finger for scolding.
“I would invite you to be more careful this time around, Kazim…...We very much enjoy your company and It would be most unfortunate to see you lose all your lives to….alligators” Nyx laughed, a hand covering her mouth.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“I hate you guys..” Kazim muttered, face in palm as he chuckled softly. A smile that reached his eyes hid underneath. I don’t deserve you guys. “Heh, so did you at least kill the stupid thing?”
“Noir did” Gale said, wiping tears from his eyes. “After you got thirsted, she told us to back off and she used that lightning shit”
“You didn’t electrocute yourself in that water?” Kazim asked the guildmaster.
Noir wiggled a finger on her Valor hand that held a ring with a small, pale yellow gem he hadn’t noticed before. “Talisman of Lightning Resistance.”
Kazim nodded. You could equip anything on your head, body, hands, legs, and feet, but there was also two slots for a talisman, items with special traits that usually came in the form of rings or necklaces.
Nyx suddenly tossed him a small, brown sack that could probably carry loose change. It definitely wasn’t change as he nearly dropped it in surprise at the sudden weight of it. It weighed at least five pounds! “What the hell is this thing?”
“Your bloody items and Valor” Nyx said with a frown as if he was an idiot. So, you could get your items and Valor back too?!
“She had to drop a lot of her herbs and materials in order to carry it” Noir added, her laughter having ceased with Gale’s. “Either of us could have dropped items and carried it but Nyx insisted. You owe her one”
Kazim nodded, placing the sack in his inventory. His Valor hand lit up briefly. “Thanks, Nyx.”
Noir walked towards the statue, a display appearing as she read the inscription. She seemed to be favoring one foot over the other.
“Hmph!” Nyx crossed her arms across her tattered blouse, watching him with a raised chin. He made a mental remainder to repay his debt soon before she used him for nefarious means, like getting back at Gale.
As Nyx joined Noir at the statue, the assassin approached him with a display blocking his face.
“You wouldn’t believe what the gator dropped, man” He said, eyes flying through his display.
“What? More Rare and ups I can’t use….No, let me guess….More Commons I can use” This was always the case when they slayed a beast together. It was always stuff they could use or stuff he couldn’t use because of his rank. He still held some of those items he couldn’t use yet in his inventory.
The rest, he sold to peddlers and vendors. H.O’s currency, emeralds, kept him fed, kept his crap armor from falling apart, and kept a shared room with Gale at a local inn.
All of his current stuff, the Shining Gauntlets, Stout Leather Armor, Basic Boots, and the Leather Leggings, were vendor bought. The city vendors also sold helms but all they did was obscure his vision.
The Basic Green Cloak was a gift from Noir after becoming a Swamp Eater.
“Dude, its the opposite! Along with the materials,….you know the claws and the scales all that crap we have to turn in,..it dropped two items, just two...and just for you. Merry Christmas!”
A sword and scaled looking armor suddenly fell from his display. Miniature displays immediately caught his eye as both items glowed a faint blue. Rare?!
Mudslinger (Valor Req. 20) (Shortsword): A rusty looking shortsword
Swamp Scale Armor (Valor Req. 25): Scaled armor that grants the player increased movement speed when submerged in water!
“The ability for the armor is garbage” Kazim muttered, placing both items in his inventory.
“Well if The Murk ever floods over from all this rain, it’ll come in handy” Gale said, as he retrieved his dagger from his inventory, tossing and twirling it around his Valor hand. It was a short bladed dagger with a slightly curved blade. A dark grey, leather grip with a crossguard made up the hilt as the entire weapon glowed a faint purple. Legendary. “Be grateful you got something. I need a new dagger.”
“Already? What's wrong with Shadowkeeper?”
Shadowkeeper (Valor Req. 400) (Knightly Dagger): A short, slightly curved blade that increases the duration of [From the Shadows].
That was the name of the smoky dagger. Gale seemed to go through daggers faster than Nyx did Blessings. They both never seemed to stick to one thing like Noir.
It made sense in retrospect. They were both around the late four hundreds in Valor rank and while experienced, they were still growing and discovering what they each liked.
Far past the suffering the he was going through but not yet at the stability that Noir had reached.
“Nothing really...the prolonged stealth is nice but I need some power you know? I want to rip things to shreds, not hit it and run.” Gale playfully swiped and slashed through the air before examining the blade with a look of dissatisfaction.
Kazim shook his head as he checked his Valor. Just retrieving his items had brought it back to twenty-five. He opened his inventory before the Swamp Scale Armor replaced his wool shirt, Leather Leggings to his trousers, and Basic Boots to his...Basic Boots.
The light armor really was scaled, like gatorskin. The mossy green chest piece was held by leather straps of the same color, on his shoulders and waist. Dirty gold buttons fastened the armor in place and his arms were bare, save for his right arm which held a small sort of scaled elbow pad.
The single chest piece and bare arms was a welcome change. It was hot down in The Murk and his leather armor had always made him feel stuffy. The ability to move faster in water made sense now. The armor was light and with his arms free, he could swim with no problems.
Mudslinger was met with less enamor. The blade indeed looked rusty. With a dirt speckled blade and a dirty brown hilt, it looked like it was forged in the depths of a swamp. If he was going to finally use a sword, this was not going to do. He had always preferred bigger swords in other games.
Chas’dan had nothing of the sort, save for peddlers or other adventurers who sold or traded awesome swords behind ridiculous prices. It was reason he had chosen to use the gauntlets in the first place. Easy to afford and he didn’t mind a good fistfight.
Maybe not with ripped alligators.
“You guys ready?” He nearly jumped at Noir’s sudden voice from his side. She smiled as if reading his mind but it disappeared quickly as if she remembered something unpleasant. Odd.
He returned Mudslinger to his inventory as Nyx opened her mouth. “Yes, if you two are done ogling over your weaponry, I’d like to be at the inn before it starts pouring” Kazim glanced up. Clouds were already beginning to form in the rapidly greying sky.
Not waiting for an answer, Nyx sauntered back towards the dirt road. With a shrug, Gale followed close behind. He whistled an unfamiliar tune as he continued to twirl Shadowkeeper.
Before Noir could follow, Kazim stopped her gently with a hand on her shoulder. He crouched in front of her, his back to her.
“Come on. I know you hurt your foot or something.” He said. Noir eyes widened. She attempted to stand normally in an instant before quickly shifting weight back onto one foot. In that moment, he hadn’t seen single flash of pain in her eyes. A tough one, she was.
“It's fine..Uh..It’s fine, really..I..” She trailed off, watching him with an unreadable expression. He returned her gaze, straightening back up.
His guildmaster was injured and in pain and as a reliable guild member, he simply wanted to help.
That was all. Nothing more.
She tapped a finger on her chin in thought, a hand on her small waist.
“Alright, but only because my foot hurts....”
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Noir ruefully looped her arms around Kazim’s neck. But before she could get her legs around him, the fool jerked upright. She dangled off, nearly hitting the cobbled stone before finally finding herself as he locked his hands under her bottom to keep her up.
Kazim almost cracking her skull irritated her enough that she suddenly remembered she was mad about something. Mad at him!
“I still haven’t forgiven you for ‘rescuing’ me from the gator like I’m some damsel in distress! I’m max rank! ”
“My bad and..” He turned his neck slightly. A look of pure disbelief took on his handsome face. “What’re you..? Where’d did this even come from? I saved your life!”
“So?! Did you hear what I just said?!” She snapped.
“You’re guildmaster! I think it’s safe to say, you’re safety is a priority!” She opened her mouth to retort but he beat her to it. “Our friends our waiting, we can debate later”
Debate?! This was a serious issue! Gale had gotten the brilliant idea to pretend to be mad when she actually was mad all along. This moment alone was the perfect time to confront the issue.
She refused to be like other guildmasters, damsels who sat behind their members to save their lives and precious legendaries. She hadn’t formed a guild to raid dungeons and reap the rewards from the backline like so many others did. That was not who she wanted to be and Kazim would learn that whether he wanted to or not!
Noir settled down however, as her Wrath Knight proceeded towards the dirt road down stone steps in a tense silence. They could talk later and the piggyback ride was for the best. During her solo dance with The Murkian Gator, she had twisted her ankle.
It was nothing that Nyx’s potions couldn’t heal but the shot of pain that hit her everytime she put weight on the foot was too much. No matter how quickly H.O dulls the pain, it was not a pleasant feeling.
The dirt road was just that, a road of bare dirt. It made the tall, dark leaved trees that lined each side of it even more gorgeous than it already was. Pockets of light rested up and down the road as birds chirped and pecked at wood from hidden places above.
Nyx, arms crossed, watched their approach with questioning eyes. Noir did not look forward to the Stone Mage lighting her ear aflame with questions of her….relationship with Kazim back at the inn.
Gale was not as subtle, of course. Still twirling Shadowkeeper, he watched them as if his imaginary ship had finally sailed. That wry smile of his somehow even more wry.
“She hurt her foot” Kazim said with a dry smile. Gale nodded proudly, raising a thumb. Noir shook her head. Men.
They proceeded towards sunlight marking a clearing of the trees in relative silence. Gale, Kazim, and Nyx began to discuss their plans for the day.
Noir listened in silence, yearning for a bath. She probably smelled like a swamp and as mad as she was at Kazim, she still felt a little embarrassed being close. He smelled like the great outdoors. His new armor looked nice but the scales on it pricked her legs through her Tribal Rogue Pants, dark baggy leggings that gave her a lot of freedom in the movement department but little in the way of protection.
Was she just being stubborn about his actions ? Maybe. But in her eyes, there was difference between teamwork and what he did. Even in the situation they were in, the last thing she wanted was for someone to sacrifice themselves for her. I’d rather have died with him.
Dirt turned to cobbled stone as they finally reached the clearing of trees and onto a low hill. The trees gave way to sprawling, flat farmland. Small animals and even some weak beasts roamed the land in random pockets among the various fields.
But the land and its beasts proved inferior to what lied a short distance way.
A massive dome barrier of white, Bright magic shielded a mossy log wall that was nearly twenty feet tall. It surrounded a small city of slated roofs with chimneys that trickled smoke. Hundreds of chimneys. A broad road ran through the middle, another east and another west. Each held dozens of wagons and pedestrians who trudged along with a sort of purpose. This carried on to the skies, where unrecognizable figures zoomed through the sky on Greenwind or chunks of earth made of Terra.
In the far distance lay the palace, just a piece of it. A dark spire of intricate stonework. The sprouting tree sigil waved on a light green banner at its top.
Noir wiped water from her neck as a raindrop met it.
The city hidden in the The Murk awaited and so did a bath.