We all looked past the outcropping and up the slopes that lead towards the imposing cliffs that marked the edge of Wyrm territory. The area made up a large section of the kingdom that was akin to a rocky desert, winds whipped down from the mountains in the north blasting the elevated area. It was a natural wonder that the wind died down around the edges and didn't blow the sand further into the kingdom. The main bulk of the area consisted of cliffs, ravines and rock pillars and a lot of fine rock sand flying around at high speeds. Not much lived there and the river that ran through the area was a wash with fine rock dust masking undrinkable to most creatures.
The reason it was called Wyrm territory was for the simple reason that every monster that lived there was a Wyrm of some kind but the Wyrms varied wildly. There were Rock Wyrms, Sand Wyrms, Small Winged Wyrms, Wind Wyrms, Trap Wyrms and the list went on. The imposing cliffs in the distance marked the edge of their rocky habitat, while it was possible for them to leave the area, they rarely did, content to hunt anything that entered their domain.
I was fairly sure that we could handle most monsters that we would find up there, Sand, Wind, Trap and the Small Winged Wyrms would be easy if we came across them. If we came across a Rock Wyrm it might be a risky prospect since they tended to be 80 feet long and up to 20 feet wide. I shuddered at the thought of being eaten whole by one of them, that was not a good way to die. The creatures I was truly worried about coming across were the legendary Sand Stalkers, while I had never seen one, I had heard a few rumours that were worrying. Supposedly they had 6 legs, 4 arms, were over 9 feet tall, were masters of stealth and overwhelmed everything with sheer brute force. While I wasn’t exactly sure of all the rumours and legends of their abilities, there were enough rumours, legends and sightings that I was worried it might be something we couldn’t handle. I was brought out of my thoughts by my party and I focused on what Clair was saying.
"How do we want to follow the bag?" Clair asked.
"On foot?” I asked hopefully.
“No, we need to move quickly past the Wyrms, we can fight them if we need to but I would rather avoid it.” Harold said.
“Agreed.” Taylor added.
I sighed, my hopes of leaving the four-legged demon dashed, a bit like how I had hit the ground after it kicked me. I grumpily took the reins to the monster back from Clair and used Etheric Step to mount the monster, not wanting to deal with any of its crap. It turned to look at me and I could swear it looked like it was planning revenge. I flipped it the bird and it snorted before following Taylor’s horse.
Our trek towards Wyrm territory started off quick as we rode up the slopes towards the cliffs, the bag kept pointing that way, so we followed. The slopes were covered in small dead or uprooted tree stumps but this quickly gave way to dirt and rocks, our pace slowed drastically as there weren’t any paths. We kept an eye out as we moved but thankfully there were no more ambushes.
We reached the base of the cliffs as the sun began to set and where we stopped was incredible, the Royal Plateau dominated the distant skyline but smaller and closer I could see the Toe Hills and Soyalls standing proudly above the ruined forests. It was only now that we were so high up that the magnitude of the desolation the goblins had wrought on the kingdom. What had once been luscious green hills were now brown churned dirt from the horde, the forests that broke up the sections of the kingdom were all but gone, the last few trees lone reminders of what once was.
We decided to camp against the cliffs instead of venturing into Wyrm territory as night descended. Camp was subdued and we didn’t light a fire as it would have been a beacon at this height, the tent was warm enough though as we had a few heat crystals to banish the cold. The atmosphere in the tent was a little tense as everyone was on edge with worries about potential Wyrm attacks.
Thankfully the night passed quickly, when I started my guard shift I wanted to work on another adventurer pose since I still couldn’t figure out how I wanted to capture Raven. Instead of carving anything though I had a miniature breakdown and wasn’t sure if I should keep on going, something felt wrong but I wasn’t sure what. I spent far too long wondering if I should continue or stop. I would have stayed there till day break if Raven hadn’t woken up and taken over the guard shift. I drifted back to my bed roll and fell into an uneasy sleep.
We woke the next morning to a world of grey, the were clouds rolling down over the cliffs looking like crashing waves as they rushed southwards. They would be heavy rain clouds as they piled into each other over the toe hills. It would be good, heavy rain that would wash away the grime that the invading horde left, I was just thankful that we weren't going to be caught in it.
The demon horse glared at me as if blaming me for every single woe that it had faced so far, surprisingly it didn't try to bite me, but it did try to buck me once I had settled into the saddle.
The plateau above us was littered with rocky pillars and outcroppings that stood strong and defiant as the winds that beat against them. Visibility was good to start with but the further we went the more the wind kicked up the sand. We all put on goggles so that we could at least keep our eyes protected, our incursion moved slowly, making sure there was a path forwards. The ground turned from dirt and rock to sand, the horses began to gain confidence and our speed picked up. It didn't take long for us to come across a windswept stone road. The stones had been worn smooth and if it hadn't been for the symmetrical shaped stones we would have ridden straight past it.
Harold made a few hand gestures that we normally used while dungeon diving. He drew a big circle, closed his fits and then made a pushing gesture above the open palm of the other hand. Stick together and follow road. I nodded along with everyone else and we began to follow the worn road hoping it was the old road to Spring Falls.
We passed stone pillar after stone pillar, rocky outcropping after rocky outcropping. They all looked the same and hid exactly the same things behind them, you guessed it, more stone pillars and more rocky outcroppings, one even led to a massive ravine that we couldn't see the bottom of.
A trial of patience and a test of monotony were two great ways to describe our journey, however it wasn't like we were idle during that time. Everyone one was on high alert, Sand Wyrm and Trap Wyrm could attack without warning. To make things worse the road was not easy to follow, it weaved in between stone pillars and made odd turns for no reason. Some sections were nearly invisible having been worn away through time or more likely the weather.
Sand gave way to gravel, cliffs and more ravines but the wind didn't let up. Instead it gained a high-pitched whistling noise as it shot through cracks and holes in the stone around us. Speech became impossible as the noise drowned everything out. I had activated Right Clothes for the Job purely so it would protect me from the sand blasting we were receiving but unfortunately it did nothing for the noise.
I had been channelling my Detect Evil spell ever since we broke camp, so far it hadn't picked up anything, it had been eerily quiet. I almost jumped out of my seat when I relieved the first evil signature. I rode up to Harold and signalled him, we came to a stop and grouped up on our horses. Everyone looked at me as I used hand gestures to speak crudely.
"Evil ahead, 14 detected." I signed.
"How far?" Harold gestured.
"200 feet." I pointed behind a rock to our right, the road looked like it curved that way ahead.
"Up, down or flat?" Raven gestured.
I focused on my spell and tried to single out individual signatures but I couldn't focus enough while being blasted by the wind and the wind creating so much noise.
"Unsure." I eventually gestured.
"I climb there and peek?" Raven asked, pointing to the rock wall next to us.
"You sure? Wind is fast." Harold asked.
"I could walk and peek." I offered, my stealth skills would let me walk down the road and remain invisible.
Harold debated for a few minutes, both were risky plans but eventually he turned to Raven.
"How long?"
"I have gloves, should be 20 minutes before I come back."
Harold agreed and Raven dismounted, she pulled out a set of gloves that had hooks on the palms, she clipped on shoe spikes. With an ease that came from years of experience she scaled the rock pillars and disappeared out of view.
Waiting like this was always the worst. In the past I've tried to make small talk, but everyone was always focused on their worries to have a conversation. I too had visions of Raven getting caught by skeletons waiting on the pillar or of her accidentally triggering the ambush by herself. I shook my head, Raven was a reliable rogue, she would be fine. She had done this plenty of times before, including during the invasion. I just needed to trust her to do her job. My worries didn't ease until I saw a black figure slowly lower themselves over the side of the top. I sighed in relief as Raven carefully made her way down the rock pillar, she looked excited while she told us what she found.
"24 undead total, 12 swords, 6 pikes, 5 archers, 1 monster." Raven gestured, her giddiness evident in how fast she was gesturing. "Archer up high, pike around side, sword in front, monster behind." She then gestured with her hands to show the scenery.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
It sounded like there was a partially collapsed stone pillar that created a patchy wall on the right hand side of the road. The archers stood on parts of the fallen pillar but were slightly hidden from the road. The pike skeletons were also hidden behind it as well but they were on the ground. The left side of the road was the edge of a cliff that fell into a deep ravine. In the middle of the road were 12 skeletons with swords and behind them was a skeletal minotaur holding a huge battle axe.
We brainstormed various ideas however one thing was certain, we had to use the road to continue to Spring Falls, we couldn't navigate safely around them and still make it back to the road. In the end we ended up setting on a plan that wasn't completely stupid like walking into the skeletons.
It was close to it though.
I dismounted a used Etheric Step to reach the top of the rock pillar. The wind hit me instantly and I dropped to the ground, I slid back a foot bringing me close to the edge, my heart began to race as I scrambled to grab onto the rock. I crawled away from the edge just as Raven's head appeared behind me. We both crawled towards the signals my detect evil spell was picking up. Looking around all I could see was bare tops of the stone pillars, some were lower and others continued to rise up into the air. Everything was completely bare with no cover whatsoever, we needed to stay low to make sure we weren't seen.
Raven led the way and followed as she moved to the edge of the pillar, while staying low she leapt a 5 foot gap onto another pillar. Honestly it was quite impressive, I wasn't sure I would be able to do anything similar. She turned to look at me expectantly and I used Etheric Step to appear next to her.
"Cheater." Raven gestured.
"Cry later." I teased.
I began to stick out my tongue but then some grit flew in my mouth and caused me to cough. I saw Raven's shoulders rise and fall as if she was laughing, she shook her head and led the way.
We crossed a few more pillars before we laid eyes on the skeletons. The minotaur stood imposing behind the sword skeletons and would have been a massive shock if Raven had not informed us, I was sure we would have been stunned into inaction at the sight. The archers were set up so they would be able to fire down on us while we were stunned, they were divided into 2 groups of 3 and had good lines of sight to the road. I couldn't see the pike skeletons but I could sense a large group of evil signatures hidden inside the fallen pillar. I wondered how Raven had found out about them but pushed the thought aside.
"We split, you take 3 archers, I take 3 archers." Raven gestured. "We regroup on me."
"What if spotted?" I asked.
"Retreat."
"Which 3 you want?"
"Cheater to far 3, I take close 3." She peered over the edge and then looked back at me. "2 minutes stay, then go."
I nodded and moved up so I could watch her. The way down was not hard, but doing it without alerting the undead would have been extremely difficult.
Raven was right in a sense, my Etheric Step ability was a cheat, I didn't need to master the same skills that she was displaying. Without a single pebble of stone falling, she climbed down the stone pillar, she was completely visible to the minotaur but her stealth skill let her pass unseen. She stayed low as she crawled across to the first set of skeletons hiding on a flat part of the broken pillar. I watched her look back to me and then disappear into the cover of the 3 archers she was targeting.
I activated Man on the Job and felt my stealth skill activate. I crouched and looked over to the furthest set of archers. I could see a small section of stone just above them that was still hidden from view. I used Etheric Step to appear laying on the new rock. My Detect Evil spell started going haywire now 3 skeleton archers less than 5 feet from me, I stopped channelling it so it wouldn't distract me. I was still in stealth so I slowly edged my way forwards till I could see into the hidey hole.
The alcove the archers were in was small, maybe 15 square feet in total. The skeletons were only partially visible to the others below. Two of them stood further back from the hole in the wall out of view, but one of them was right at the opening. I thought about how to get the one by the hole for a second before nodding, the blade of my scythe appeared and I began the swing for my first strike, part way through the swing I used Etheric Step.
I appeared 2 feet to the right for the skeleton by the hole. The flat edge of my scythe slammed into its face and chest causing it to stumble backwards. I twisted my arms and the scythe cut though its spine and pierced its skull. I had to stop the momentum of my scythe as the other two skeletons raised their bows. I dashed forwards and rolled as the arrows flew at me. I brought my scythe round in a right slash that split both of their skulls. The sound of their bones clattering to the ground was music to my ears.
You have slain a Skeleton Archer Level 12, as this creature is recognised by your class as a foe, you do not receive any penalties. You have earned 10xp.
You have slain a Skeleton Archer Level 12, as this creature is recognised by your class as a foe, you do not receive any penalties. You have earned 10xp.
You have slain a Skeleton Archer Level 12, as this creature is recognised by your class as a foe, you do not receive any penalties. You have earned 10xp.
I cautiously walked over to the hole in the wall, I peeked through to see if my fight had caused any stirrings. While I was fully confident I could walk through the undead with my full abilities in use, I didn't want to risk alerting them, too much was riding on finding the necromancer. The skeletons still stood in the road not doing much, none of them had noticed anything thankfully. I wondered if skeletons ever got bored with standing perfectly still.
I shook my head as I moved away from the hole, I crouched low before using Etheric Step to get out of there. I stayed low and used Etheric Step again to get over to Raven's area. Raven was crouched in the corner of the room away from the hole, there were 3 piles of bones around her. I cast Etheric Step once more and appear near her. I had to steady myself against the wall as I was hit with a dizziness, I panted and closed my eyes while enduring it.
"You good? You stabbed?" Raven gestured with concern when I finally opened my eyes.
"Not hurt, too much cheating." I joked.
"You good to magic?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Pppshhh, I fine. I speak to Harold."
I cast my message spell and a small green butterfly appeared, I gave it the mental message and sent it to Harold. The butterfly rose into the air before turning an Etheric green and zipping through the solid wall. I quickly checked my mana and winced.
Mana: 862/2600
"5 minutes before attack." I began to gesture before there was a loud cawing from outside that managed to be louder than the raging wind.
I was using too much mana and while Etheric Step didn't use mana it was always harder to use when I had less mana and would have disorientating effects. We slowly walked over the hole in the wall to see a fortuitous sight, the skeletons were under attack from a group of small winged Wyrm . The Wyrm were odd creatures, they had the head and body of a snake with wings attached at the sides, it also had small feet with sharp talons.
Name: Small Winged Wyrm
Level 14
Type: Common
Description: The Small Winged Wyrm is one of the smallest of the Wyrm species and is commonly found around windy rocky areas. They are known to possess various affinities and have attacks that use them.
Health: 500/500
Mana: 200/200
Effects: Immune to attuned affinity attacks.
The Small Winged Wyrms swooped down on the sword skeletons, their talons lashing out and crushing anything they got a hold of. A few of them stayed up high but they spat what looked like globs of spit at the flailing undead. It looked like a fierce attack but the skeletons' counter attack decimated the small creatures. The pike skeletons charged out and began lancing the small Wyrms, the hits weren't instantly killing them but they would poke holes in wings. The injured Wyrms fell to the ground and were swarmed by the berserking skeletons.
After 5 minutes only a few Wyrms remained in the sky. I watched as the rest of our party appeared around the corner of the road, Harold led Clair and Taylor, without the horses, they paused for a second to take in the scene before them. Harold and Taylor exchanged a few gestures while it looked like Clair cast a spell. 2 of the small winged Wyrms, a green one and a purple one, turned and flew towards her. I guessed she had cast some sort of charm or tame spell on them.
The undead noticed them at this point. As the last of the small winged Wyrms died, almost as one, they raised their weapons and roared as they charged. All except the minotaur, who stayed back and watched. The sword and pike skeletons thundered forwards for a dozen feet before they ran up against a wall of ice that sprang up out of the ground. They crashed into it and began trying to climb or dig their way through it like the mindless undead they were.
What happened next was a thing of beauty. Taylor froze the ground on the road while slowly extending the ice along the side of the wall. The process was taking a while as there was a lot of power they were using. When enough ice had built up, and Taylor had drunk a mana potion, there was a loud cracking sound and the ice that had been created began to slide off the road. It was a slow rumbling to begin with but after a few seconds it picked up speed and tumbled into the ravine taking all of the skeletons with it. The wind seemed to die down so we could hear the mighty crash of the ice hitting the bottom of the ravine.
I think everyone took a second to reassess Taylor. They stood tall behind Harold but I could see their shoulders rising and falling with the strain and mana deprivation of what they'd just done. The minotaur reacted first, it lowered its head, bone horns pointing towards Taylor and charged. It took 4 lumbering steps forwards as it started to charge when it slipped on the ice still coating the road and crashed face first into the ground.
The two small winged Wyrm flapped into action. The purple one spat a small glob of goo at the minotaur, it crashed against its back causing the monster to roar, its roar now audible and loud enough to hurt my ears. The green one dashed in and landed on the minotaur's neck and started to use its talons to crack bones. It managed to crack a few ribs before, faster than the Wyrm could react, the minotaur grabbed it and began to squeeze. The small winged Wyrm squealed in pain as its bones began to break.
It was my time to leap into the action, I cast Etheric Step. My scythe came down on the minotaur's arm, my legs slipped out from underneath me and I added my weight onto the strike. Dizziness overcame me at the same time and I bounced off my scythe awkwardly, I lost my grip on it as the world began to spin. I skidded away and did my best to not slide into the ravine, as well as not throw up. The minotaur screamed in rage, there was a loud bang and was bounced 3 feet up into the air. I splattered back to the ground like a fresh homemade apple pie falling onto the kitchen floor. I groaned in pain and I felt that the ice beneath me was now cracked.
I looked up to see the minotaur had slammed his battle axe into the ice. All around the axe the ice was no longer a large sheet, instead it looked like a broken window except there were also large sections of the stone road that were poking up as well. Clearly, I would have been dead if not for me sliding away like an idiot. I gulped as my identification spell finally worked.
Name: Skeletal Minotaur
Level 50
Type: Rare
Description: A monster turned undead. This once proud monster has been brought back to life by a powerful necromancer and has managed to retain some of its skills and abilities.
Health: 18000/24000
Mana: 90/100
Effects: Immune to intimidation. Enraged.