Max was sure they’d outrun the slug long ago. He had moved about so much, he half wondered if the beast had lost track of him. Clearly, this creature born of the dark portal would never leave him alone. No matter how far or how fast he traveled, the beast would always follow and eventually catch up to him. As he advanced on the slug, he wondered if it would be able to follow him back to Earth or would it be left here in Eveirea? Did Max really want to go back to Earth? His life had been far simpler back there. It was certainly more exciting here in Eveirea, even if half the things here were trying to destroy him for one reason or another. At the edge of catapult range, he shot a bullet of random effect.
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> Max attacks Dark Slug.
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> Dark Slug takes minor damage.
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> Random effect: Flame
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>
The bullet burst with a flash of red fire. Jahrod walked at his side, shooting crossbow bolts at the slug as fast as he could load them. They thudded into the thick, slimy hide of the beast, each heavy bolt dealing minor damage.
Anita walked at the same pace as Max and Jahrod, twirling her sling, bullets slamming into the slug. Just behind Max was Elderon. The old Mage had yet to cast a spell on the dark slug, and Max hoped he had something powerful on standby.
Elderon called out to Max and then pointed to the ridge in the distance. He cast spell of Far Sight and showed Max a lone figure on a distant hill. Even with the Far Sight spell creating a lens for Max to view the distant ridge, Max could not make out any features on the figure other than that it was a Mage robed in red.
“Gorgoron?” Max said.
“Possibly,” Elderon said. “We should not jump to conclusions. All we can be sure of is there is a Red Mage watching over the battle.”
The Red Mage was waving his hands. He gestured with them in a forward motion. At that moment, the slug lurched forward with a sudden burst of pace, racing over the damp grass towards Max.
Jahrod switched to his axe and Anita her spear, and they closed in on either side of the slug, moving fast, avoiding the huge rasping mouth parts, but the slug only had one focus: Max.
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> Max attacks Dark Slug.
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> Slug takes minor damage.
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> Random effect: Cold
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The bullet burst, and a sheen of frost spread over the slug’s slimy head. The slug paused and shuddered. The frosty sheen shattered and fell away. The slug surged forward and closed in on Max with Anita and Jahrod dealing heavy damage on its flanks. The slug lost chunks of slimy dark flesh to Jahrod’s axe and Anita’s slashing spear but kept on coming.
Max loaded another bullet. Elderon placed a hand on his shoulder. He directed Max’s attention to the battle at the city walls. Yet more Deadtide soldiers had made the top of the wall, and then there came a huge crash as the gates finally gave way under the assault from the battering ram.
“We need to turn our attention to the city. Stand back.”
Elderon stepped in front of Max. He began casting a wild series of gestures and intoned a long chant. A spell raced away from his arms. A dark cloud shot through with fire tumbled towards the slug. It slammed into the beast and exploded. The beast was utterly destroyed, throwing chunks of thick dark flesh and torrents of slime from inside its body.
Anita rolled away at the last moment. Jahrod, in full swing with his axe, got absolutely splattered with slime. He stood there for a moment, dripping with gray slime. He shook his arms and splattered the slime off his hands.
“To the city gates,” Elderon said.
Jahrod ran to catch up. He wiped a finger across his eye and removed a glob of slime. He stuck it in his mouth and sucked.
“What are you doing?” Max said in horror.
Jahrod pulled his finger out with a smack of his lips. “You must be open to new flavors, Max. It’s good.” He gathered another blob of slime from his face and offered it for Max to taste.
“Not a chance, my stout friend,” Max said.
Jahrod shrugged and licked his fingers clean of slime. “If you ever summon one of those again, make sure you bring it my way.”
“You got it,” Max said, hoping to never have to see a dark slug, or Jahrod suck its slime, ever again in his life.
As they came closer to the fight at the city walls, Max was not sure how long that life would be. The gate had collapsed, and Deadtide soldiers were scrambling over the debris. They met a hail of arrows and spears from the defenders just inside the walls.
Max and his party joined with the elven troops and shot ranged attacks into the Deadtide army rear. Elven arrows singing as they flew, almost perfectly horizontally into the rear of the attackers, who were rushing forward, pressing tight at the smashed gate. Max took aim and shot his catapult.
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> Max attacks Deadtide Soldier.
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> Deadtide Soldier takes minor damage.
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> Random effect: Smoke
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A small cloud of smoke spread out and enshrouded a couple of Deadtide soldiers. They fell back in confusion.
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> Max attacks Deadtide Soldier.
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> Deadtide soldier takes minor damage.
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> Random effect: smoke
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Again the smoke caused confusion and panic and several more Deadtide soldiers backed away. They saw the company of elves shooting into their ranks. They ran away to the sides, along the city wall, and away to the distance.
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“The smoke is breaking their spirit,” Jahrod said. “It’s confusing them. Look, they are running. Do it again, Max.”
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> Max attacks Deadtide Soldier.
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> Deadtide soldier takes minor damage.
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> Bonus Cold damage
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> Deadtide Soldier has been defeated.
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The Deadtide soldier collapsed, but the soldiers and goblins on either side didn’t flinch at the sight of it.
“No,” Jahrod said. “Use smoke.”
“It’s a random effect,” Max said. “I can’t choose what I get. Maybe they weren’t such a good purchase after all.”
Then Max remembered his one last spell.
“Captain Fineblade,” Max shouted. “Can your elves pick a target in the smoke?”
“They are not hard to miss, they are so tightly packed.”
Max looked at Elderon, about to ask him if he should use his last spell. Elderon understood what Max was thinking and nodded.
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> Max casts Summon Fog.
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The fog erupted from the ground in the midst of the attackers at the gate. It was the last straw. The army began to break and lose cohesion. The soldiers fell back, seeking clear air.
The fight on the top of the wall turned in Ralynn’s favor as the attackers were pushed back. The ladders pushed away. Then, in a moment, panic spread through the ranks, and the army broke.
It did not take long for the army to disintegrate. They ran alongside the walls of the city, pressed between defenders and the company of elves.
With the army rapidly dispersing, Max walked towards the city gates. The fog still hung thick, but Max could see the dark shapes of goblins and Deadtide soldiers all around him fleeing the fight. Max felt a force pulling at him, right from the heart. He wandered deeper into the fog, closer to the force that drew him, called to him. Then, out of the fog, a hard face appeared, scowling and grinning.
“You,” Gaius Deadtide said. “I felt the shard pulling me to you. You spoiled everything.” He drew his sword.
Max spotted the dark shard hung around Gaius’s neck on a pendant. He was determined to keep hold of his replacement shard.
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> Gaius Deadtide attacks Max.
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Gaius moved fast. The sword thrust struck Max square in the chest.
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> Max takes heavy damage.
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Max had the wind knocked out of him. He staggered backwards. Gaius was lost from sight for a brief moment in the fog but then advanced on Max once again.
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> Gaius Deadtide attacks Max.
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Max raised his Shortsword of Lightning in time to defend against the downward blow. The spell of Strength added weight to Max's arm, and he held off the blow. A clang of steel on steel.
Max used Gaius’s Strength to push himself away. He rolled backwards and out of sight of Gaius. He could feel the dark officer was nearby, and he heard him advancing. Max pulled up his Hood of Sneaking and activated his Sneak ability.
Gaius came close, out of the fog, drawn to Max by the dark power of the shard. He swung his sword blindly into the fog. Max narrowly avoided the blade and moved onto Gaius’s rear.
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> Max attacks Gaius Deadtide.
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> Gaius Deadtide takes minor damage.
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> Bonus Lightning damage.
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> Bonus Strength damage.
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> Bonus Sneak Attack damage.
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> Sneak ability deactivated.
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>
Gaius yelled out in fury and pain. He spun around, his sword aimed at Max. Max jumped aside, but the blade caught him in the ribs. The padded tunic absorbing some damage, but the padded leather was in tatters after the encounter with the giant lizard and offered very little protection. Only Max’s Pendant of Defense saving him against critical damage.
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> Gaius Deadtide attacks Max.
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> Max takes heavy damage.
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Max knew he couldn’t stand alone against this seasoned and powerful fighter. He ran back into the fog and hid again, activating his Sneak ability.
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> Max attacks Gaius Deadtide.
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> Gaius Deadtide takes minor damage.
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> Bonus Lightning damage.
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> Bonus Strength damage.
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> Bonus Sneak Attack damage.
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> Sneak ability deactivated.
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Gaius swung again, a wild attack. The tip of his blade grazed across Max’s padded tunic, but the force behind the attack was enough that even the slightest touch from the tip did harm.
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> Gaius Deadtide attacks Max.
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> Max takes minimal damage.
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>
Max backed away; Gaius advanced. Max held his sword up in defense. At that moment, a group of fleeing goblins barreled into Max and Gaius. Shrieking, they ran blindly through the fog. Max used the distraction and hid again.
Max knew he could attack again, and he was likely to do heavy damage with the bonuses from Lightning, the Strength bonus, and his Sneak Attack bonus, but Gaius would have his retaliation, and Max’s Health was very low after only a few attacks from Gaius.
Max moved in close. He found Gaius searching through the fog, turning sharply this way and that, waiting for the next attack.
Max got onto Gaius’s rear. He sheathed his sword and leapt onto Gaius’s back. Gaius bucked like a mule. He reached back and grabbed Max by the collar and tugged him violently, trying to pull him over his shoulder. Max reached around Gaius’s neck and grabbed the pendant.
The dark shard evaporated in Max’s grip, dark flakes drifting into the fog.
Gaius collapsed to his knees. He looked up at Max, dark eyes staring, red with confusion and fear. The fog began to clear, and Max saw the line of elves at the gate, greeting the defenders from inside the city. Elderon came out of the thinning fog to Max.
“Finish him,” Jahrod said, stepping up.
“His darkness has brought so much harm to the balance of nature,” Anita said.
Max put his hand on his sword handle.
“Get up,” Max said.
Gaius stood up. “Better to die on one’s feet than one’s knees.” He stuck out his chin. The dark lines around his eyes receded. Red eyes of remorse there now.
“Go,” Max said with a jerk of his head. “Run home, Gaius Deadtide. Your army is no more.”
Gaius backed away, a nervous glance at Jahrod and Anita, then he turned and fled.
“We’ll have to call you Max the Merciful from now on,” Jahrod said. He started to walk away.
“Where are you going?” Max said. “Have I offended you for not defeating the enemy? He was beaten anyway.”
Jahrod shook his head. “There were giant lizards in that army.”
“We defeated them both,” Max said. “I don’t think there are any more. We would have seen.”
Anita tutted and shook her head lightly. “Guano,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Exactly,” Jahrod said. “Where there are giant lizards, there is bound to be some guano.”
“What, like lizard droppings?” Max said.
Jahrod pressed his thumb and forefinger to his mouth and pulled them away with a kiss. “Vital ingredient of scromble. I’m going to find a guano patch. You wait until you try a bite of scromble, Max,” Jahrod said. “Like nothing else in Eveirea.”
“I’ll try it if we ever find a double hot vindaloo,” Max said. “Then we’ll see whose taste buds surrender first.”
Captain Darius Fineblade joined Max and his party.
“We rest here tonight, but in the morning, we travel back to Deepwood. Our king is still under the influence of the darkness. We must do what we can to free him.”
“And I will go with you,” Max said. “We will save your king. For the good of Eveirea, we will save him. Until morning.”
Max walked through the city on tired feet. He was welcomed at the gates of Ralynn Castle by the guards. He walked through the stone corridors of the castle freely, tired-looking guards greeting him with a nod and a smile. He returned to the rooms where he had recently spent a few quiet and restful days. His staff was still propped up in the corner of the room. Waiting for him on the small table in front of the little window was a jug of fresh ale and a board with bread, fruit, and a hard white cheese that crumbled at the slightest touch. Max tasted a crumb of the cheese. It had a sharp flavor. Tasty.
Jahrod burst in with a bag of guano. “Found it,” he said. “Huge pile of guano. It’s got that special salty spice that is vital for a good scromble. Soon we will have scromble, my friend. Soon. And your taste buds will thank me.”
Max was sure it would kill him.
Max drifted to sleep on his soft bed, the first real sleep he’d had in days. He was fully rested under the Blanket of Comfort in a few hours. It was still dark when he woke, fully rested, spells activated.
Max heard his door creak open. He sat up, hand reaching for his shortsword.
Princess Shree stepped in. She closed the door and slipped into the bed beside Max.
“Are you sure you need to go with the elves?” she whispered.
“Not until morning,” he said.
Princess Shree laid a hand on his head, and he closed his eyes.
Then the door burst open and in stepped Elderon. “It is morning, Max. The elves are marching out. Get ready. We are leaving. Helping the elves was your plan. They will not look kindly on you if you are tardy.” Elderon left and pulled the door behind him.
“Morning already?” Max said with a stretch and a yawn.
“An hour before dawn,” Shree said.
Max let out a sigh. “Sorry, Princess, I have to go.”
“Not without a kiss,” Shree said and pulled the blanket over their heads.