The slope down from the ridge was steep and damp from days of rain. Max skidded and slipped down towards the tree line, all the while digging the cross guard of his shortsword into the rich earth to slow his descent. Once at the tree line, he used the trees to slow his descent, moving in short bursts down the slope from one tree to the next, never building enough speed to slide out of control. Once the slope leveled off, Max turned to the north and headed towards the Deadtide army encampment.
By Max’s reckoning, the army encampment was at least two miles away. The thick trees of the West Ridge Forest obscured any sight of the camp. He hoped to see the flickering lights soon. It was near total darkness in the dark forest. He could make out the dark shapes of thick trees. The ground was dark, and Max stumbled over a knot of roots.
Max landed on his hands after a trip. He steadied himself. A rustling in the trees behind made the hairs on his scalp tingle and stand on end. He listened carefully. Somewhere nearby, hidden by the darkness, there was something. Something large.
Max heard a sudden breath, a huge beast snorting. Now Max wished he had prepared his Detect Enemy spell. He couldn’t see a thing but suspected something was stalking him. Could it be Anita or Jahrod, following him to keep him safe? But they had promised to hold their positions on the ridge. Max knew he was alone. His only company some huge forest beast.
The sounds of branches snapping told Max for sure and certain that something was nearby and closing in ever closer. Something big. If he could see it, he could target it with a magic missile or two. He could even get a few good shots off from his catapult. Maybe a few hits of minor damage would be enough to scare off the beast.
But Max was essentially blind. He wouldn’t know what was stalking him until it was on top of him. His hand went to his shortsword. Max was no great melee fighter like Jahrod or Anita, but the feel of the handle gave him courage. Still, he needed to improve his chances. Only one spell could help him now.
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> Max casts Strength.
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Max intoned the incantation and moved his hands through the casting gestures. He worked slowly and steadily and felt the spell take effect. He checked his stats, a table forming in the dark shadows of the surrounding trees.
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> Name: Max Lightfoot
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> Class: Mage
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> Level: 4
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> Health: Full
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> Strength: 18
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> Stamina: 16
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> Agility: 18
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> Intelligence: 17
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> Wisdom: 12
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> Charisma: 16
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Max saw that his Strength had been hugely improved by the spell. He was now as strong as Jahrod, as strong as any fighter, but his Mage class meant he could still only wield weapons allowed to his class. If he armed himself with longswords, hammers, axes, pole arms like Anita’s spear, all his active spells would be wiped from his Mage Book. He was limited to the staff and shortsword. His staff was sitting on his bunk back at Ralynn Castle. Although Mages were almost expected to carry a staff as if it were a badge of office, the shortsword had become his weapon of choice. He drew the blade. The metal edge singing as he drew it.
Out of the darkness, Max saw the dark shape lunge at him. Red burning eyes and yellow teeth snapping at him.
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> Wolf attacks Max.
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> Attack dodged; no damage done.
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Max rolled out of the way, pure instinct kicking in. He turned and looked at the stats of the beast attacking him.
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> Name: Wolf
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> Status: Hostile
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> Attack: Crushing Bite
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> Threat level: Dangerous
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Max held his sword before him. He’d faced a wolf before, and it had nearly killed him. But he had been new to the world at that time and had not even made his first level. Max was not confident he could defeat this beast without taking damage. He stared into the shadows, seeing the dark shape of the wolf turn, the red eyes burning in the dark giving away the beast’s location.
Then the wolf came running.
The sound of the huge paws crashing through the forest was terrifying enough, but the sight of those burning red eyes fixed on him was even more terrifying. Max felt his breathing stuttering with fright. He was no Warrior; he was no Beast Slayer. He tried to calm his breathing and focus on the beast that was little more than a dark blur in a dark background.
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> Wolf attacks Max.
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> Attack dodged; no damage done.
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Max moved to the side and slashed with his sword.
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> Max attacks Wolf.
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> True Striking bonus.
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> Strength bonus.
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> Wolf takes heavy damage.
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The wolf whimpered as Max’s sword cut deep into its thick shoulder. It had been a lucky strike in the darkness aided by his magically enhanced blade and the magical boost to his Strength. Max could see the beast more clearly now as it stopped nearby. It was turning with a snarl, fixing eyes on its prey, making ready to attack again.
Max kneeled, stabbed his sword into the ground before him, and began to cast an old favorite.
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> Max casts Magic Missile.
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Two glowing orange orbs raced away from Max’s fingers, one arcing left, the other to the right. They moved as fast as lightning and slammed into the wolf.
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> Wolf takes moderate damage.
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> Wolf flees in panic.
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Max watched the wolf run and briefly considered it the end of the encounter but then thought that the last thing he wanted was the wolf regaining its composure and coming back at him. He needed to finish the beast now. He wasn’t going to be able to catch it and defeat it with his shortsword. He could get a good enough sighting on the beast to attack with his catapult, but he might miss, and even his Superior Bullets might not deal enough damage to defeat the wolf. He began to cast a second Magic Missile.
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> Max casts Magic Missile.
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> Wolf takes moderate damage.
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> Wolf has been defeated.
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> Max gains experience points.
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Max paused for a second. He knew that Anita would say something over the defeated wolf. Although he was not a Druid, he wanted to speak to the defeated wolf on behalf of Anita.
“Safe onward travels, brave wolf,” Max said. He picked his sword up from the ground, wiped the blade clean before sliding it back into the scabbard.
Max didn’t want any more surprises, so he slipped up his Hood of Sneaking. He activated his Sneak ability, now boosted by the hood. Here in the darkness of the forest, with the hood up and his Ring of Shadows adding to his ability, he vanished from sight.
Max moved forward carefully so as not to stumble or create any sound that would give away his position. Soon, he came to the edge of the forest. The trees thinned out. He saw campfires and rough canvas tents on the edge of the forest. Deadtide guards patrolled the edge of the camp in pairs. Max moved carefully between the tents and headed towards the main army camp on the grassy plain beyond the forest.
Max was taken aback at the size of this army. He had walked for twenty minutes or more, moving in the shadows between canvas tents, and still he was far from the center. Deadtide soldiers sat around small campfires, eating and drinking, dark eyes staring. There was no talking, no singing, and no laughing. Max knew little of life in the army but he felt sure soldiers across a thousand worlds throughout time would enjoy the peace before battle. They would joke with their friends, sing, drink, and gamble. Soldiers knew how important it was to live in the moment, for tomorrow might bring death.
Max moved through the silent soldiers. He checked his stats from time to time to be sure his Sneak ability was still active. But even though he was hidden from sight, he made sure he kept away from the patrolling guards and the soldiers’s campfires.
Max paused to get his bearings and check the best way to progress through the camp. He saw a soldier sitting in front of a fire. The soldier was staring into the flames with dark eyes. His face was covered in fine black lines that appeared to move and flow towards the dark pools around his eyes. Black eyeballs staring.
“The darkness has affected them all.”
Max was startled by the sudden voice at his shoulder. He turned to see Janet floating there, brilliant white surrounded by deep dark.
Max whispered to her, glancing nervously about for signs he’d been discovered. “Are you sure they can’t see you?”
Janet shook her head. “No one can see me. Only you. I am all alone. You are my only friend, Max.”
Max felt his heart skip a beat as Janet called him friend. She was beautiful, intelligent too. He’d never had a friend like Janet before. It made it even more heartbreaking that she was trapped in the dark portal.
“I can see the laboratory back on Earth,” Janet said. “Nothing has changed. It has been weeks since you landed in Eveirea, but the lab is exactly as it was when the transport portal experiment activated.”
Max struggled to find words of comfort, but anything he considered just reminded him that it was in some part his fault that Janet was trapped between worlds.
“I’ll get you out of there, Janet. I promise you.” Max spoke as quietly as he could.
Janet bowed her head, defeated, silent.
“Am I close yet?” Max whispered.
Janet nodded and pointed the way.
Max moved on. The tents went on for miles on either side. He came across a large tent with banners at either side of an awning. A pair of soldiers stood guard.
“An officer’s tent, I expect,” Janet said. “Someone high up in the army. A nobleman perhaps. But they are all affected by the darkness.”
Max nodded.
“Talk to me Max,” Janet said, her voice filled with forced confidence, forced positivity. “Keep me company.”
Max looked at her apologetically and then pointed to the soldiers all around him.
“Do you mind if I talk?”
Max shook his head and gave her a warm smile. He liked the sound of her voice. It was light and sweet. He ducked around a corner as a pair of soldiers came marching along between the tents, spears over their shoulders, dark eyes staring.
“I don’t know what’s happened to them,” Janet said. “It must be the influence of the dark portal.”
Max moved on. He spotted the huge wagon he’d seen through Elderon’s Far Sight spell. The wheels were taller than Max. The canvas covering was higher than a three-story building. Max could not resist the chance to look. He ducked under the cover. Once inside, he saw the huge log suspended from tall uprights on heavy chains. Loose chains hung down the sides along the length of the log. One end was capped with an iron point.
“A battering ram,” Janet said.
Max nodded. He touched one of the hanging chains and let it rest against his palm, feeling its weight. He looked at the line of them and realized their purpose: a handle to swing the log back and forth. It would take a team of a dozen soldiers to man every swinging chain, and once they had the mighty ram swinging, he could not imagine any castle of any city gate, however sturdy, standing up to that heavy iron point.
Deeper into the camp, the fires were larger. Torches burning on tall stakes marked out paths. He saw a pair of smartly dressed soldiers with swords on their belts rather than spears over their shoulders.
“Officers?” Janet said.
Max nodded and kept to the shadows of a tent as they passed by.
“We’re very close,” Janet said. She pointed to a large tent. “In there.”
Max stopped and looked at the tent. Heavy canvas, colored and decorated with gold trim. A pair of posts stood up from the center line holding the tent up, flags hung from the top of each one. A pair of guards stood in front of the opening. Inside, all was dark.
Max checked his stats. He was still hidden. If he was going to get inside that tent, he would have to walk between the two guards who were standing less than five feet apart. Max wasn’t sure if he could walk right between them unseen, even though his Sneak ability was active. He spotted a pair of officers marching towards him. A chance to test his Sneak ability. They were staring straight ahead. No talking, just walking. Max stepped out from behind the tent and stood in full view of the pair. They marched past him at less than three feet without a glance.
“I guess my Sneak ability is holding,” Max whispered to Janet.
“Or they are not interested in you,” Janet said.
“That’s comforting,” Max said. He started towards the large tent.
The sweat dripped down his back as he came closer and closer. Not sweating from effort or heat, but from fear and excitement. He slowed his pace as he got within a few yards. His heart beat so hard, he felt sure the sound of it in his chest would give him away. The guards appeared not to see him or hear him. They stared into the distance.
Max walked between the two and into the tent.
The tent was lit by two braziers at its center. The wide steel bowls on top of tripods held the fire off the ground. Polished copper panels on easels around the sides of the tent reflected the light from the fires. At one end of the tent was a table with a map laid out on it. A second table was laid with food and jugs of ale. Max felt hungry at the sight of the food.
At the other end of the tent was a tall wooden cabinet. It was taller than Max, as wide as Jahrod the dwarf. The timber looked solid, heavy dark wood, highly polished. The front was secured by a heavy iron lock.
“It’s in there,” Janet said. “The dark shard.”
Max held the lock in his hand. It was heavy. Solid.
“Can you break it?” Janet said.
Max shook his head. “But I think I can pick it if I had the right tools.”
Max looked at the map table. The map was held down with rocks at each corner. A set of calipers lay on the map, an instrument for measuring distance. It consisted of two long, thin curved pieces of metal jointed at one end.
“Perfect,” Max said. He bent the calipers at the joint, flexing it back and fore to separate the two parts. As he bent the calipers, he looked down at the map. He saw the names he had heard spoken of written on the map. Essillt in the north was a range of mountain running from one end of the Awen continent to the other. At the east of Essillt was the Kingdom of Eastwind. There were many bays and inlets onto the Kraken Sea. Across the sea, he saw the continent of Scarfel. The map showed it was bound on the western shore by a range of mountains running north to south with only a narrow break directly opposite a small bay in the Kingdom of Eastwind.
The map also showed the position of the Deadtide army on the edge of the West Ridge Forest, on the border between the Hinge and the Kingdom of Faregent. Max saw the city of Deadtide sitting at the end of the Salt River in the Hinge.
The calipers snapped after much bending. Max went to the lock on the cabinet.
“I was starting to forget you were a Thief,” Janet said as Max inserted the two calipers into the lock.
Max shook his head. “I’m not a Thief. I’m a Mage.” He jiggled the makeshift lock pick, feeling for the mechanism inside the heavy lock.
“It’s funny,” Janet said. “We wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t tried to steal these diamonds from the laboratory. Now you’re trying to steal them all again.”
The lock clicked, and Max let out a sigh of relief. He opened the double doors. Sitting inside was a small box covered with a heavy purple velvet cloth. Max lifted the cloth and dropped it to the ground. He opened the box.
Inside was a dark shard, as if the shadows themselves had been cut, revealing a deeper darkness within.
“Is it safe?” Max said staring at the shard.
Janet remained silent.
Max took a breath, maybe his last. He reached out and picked up the dark shard.
It was cold and hot, heavy but without substance at all. It was as if he held a shadow that was as heavy as lead. Max saw that the flickering of the firelight had stopped. Janet looked at the dark shard.
Max realized time had stopped. He looked around. The tent flapping in the breeze was still. The firelight had halted midflicker.
“What should I do with it now?” Max said.
At that moment, the dark shard began to evaporate. It drifted away like black leaves of soot, fading to smoke and drifting away to nothing. Max stood and watched in awe as the shard vanished before his eyes.
“Will the army be released once it’s been destroyed?” Max said.
“I don’t know, but I suspect the effect will linger. The dark shard was a direct connection to the portal, but the influence of the portal is still being felt across Eveirea. It might take some time for them to come to their senses.”
Max watched the last of the shard evaporate, hypnotized by it. As the shard grew smaller and smaller, the tent began to flap in the breeze again. The flickering of the firelight started moving again, slowly at first and then more rapidly.
“What’s that?” Janet said and pointed into the cabinet.
Max looked up just as the final fragment of the shard evaporated. He looked directly into the small beady eyes of a tiny little man. Green hair, pointy ears. A smart green suit and feet like a birds, gripping a bar above the box that had once contained the dark shard.
“It’s an imp, a store imp,” Max said. A fresh wave of panic swept over him.
“A what?” Janet said.
The shard evaporated. Max’s Sneak ability deactivated. And then the imp let out an ear-shattering squeal.