Clear Skies II

Assist the Roc Lord in defeating Din’Ket the Usurper.

Rewards variable based on method of completion.

I was glad that the quest details were brief, as I didn’t have the luxury of settling down for a lengthy read. Instead, I was busy maintaining a death grip on the roc beneath me, hurtling through the air faster than a missile. The other two were behind me, a fact I only knew from Verin’s alarmed shouts and Cal’s cheerful yelling.

“Fuck yeah! I take it back! I’m okay with this! Look, no hands!” Despite Cal’s insistent request, I notably did not look back.

Instead, realizing we had less than ten seconds before we found ourselves in the heart of a pitched battle, I did my best to prepare. Last big fight. Then we can go home, I promised myself. I summoned up my armor, at the same time grabbing one of our last bucket’s of Cleansing Well Water from my inventory. I was only glad that we hadn’t needed to use all of them on Tal’Ket, as I expected we’d need some for ourselves.

You have consumed Cleansing Well Water!

Fighting back some vertigo, I twisted around, shoving the bucket into Verin’s hands. “Drink!”

She took a big gulp before passing the bucket to Cal and making her own demand to me. “Lady Tess! Back!”

It took me a moment to puzzle out, but when I felt her latch onto me from behind, I understood. I’d gotten used to carrying her through the toxic mud, and this had been our solution. I wrapped my arms around hers, treating her like a human backpack, and she immediately activated her Advancing Glacier. It was slightly unwieldy, but I was relieved I wouldn’t have to worry about Verin falling off or getting hit.

There was probably more we could have done to get ready, but unfortunately, we were out of time. What had at first looked like an insurmountable distance had nearly vanished as the two titanic creatures got into range of one another.

The attacks arrived only moments later.

Like a mushroom releasing its spores, Din’Ket erupted, a dense cloud of dirt threatening to fill the entire sky. Contemptuously, Tal’Ket parted the air with a single sweep of his wings, sweeping the attack to the side. In the single instant that our vision had been obscured, however, the usurper had already prepared another spell, a barrage of mud bolts rocketing towards us.

In a move that threatened to give me whiplash, Tal’Ket relied on his speed to dodge the many spells, rolling and weaving between them at a speed that defied reasoning. In the span of a second, I fell off his back three times. On each occasion, a blast of wind slammed me back into my proper place, a clear sign that the Roc Lord wasn’t going to let us fall (or run away) that easily.

Even so, what are we possibly supposed to do here? Melee attacks were useless in a fight like this, and the enemy was far outside Verin’s range. That left what? My arrows? As I watched a blade of wind carve Din’Ket in half -- only for her two halves to join back together seamlessly -- I sincerely doubted anything I could do would make a difference. And that was assuming I could hit the fast-moving target in the first place.

Just as I had that thought, a drop of something brown hit my gauntleted hand. Afraid of what I might find, I turned my gaze upwards to where an entire raincloud had formed, releasing a deluge of muddy rain. Not even Tal’Ket could dodge individual raindrops, and even as he fought, his brilliant plumage was soon speckled with dirty dots.

I was worried that the mud might slow our noble steed down, but the truth turned out to be even worse. Spurred on by some animating force, the raindrops began to crawl over the Roc Lord’s body, clumping up and growing larger. To my horror, God’s Eye recognized them as more than just a complicated spell.

Minor Mud Elemental: Level 12, 80/80hp

Even as I watched, the elemental’s level and health went up as it collected more mud. A few of them peeled off, headed our way, but the bulk of them directly attacked Tal’Ket, stabbing into his flesh and attempting to yank off his feathers.

Finally, there was something we could actually do. Before the first wave of elementals got anywhere near us, they were already frosted over, Verin’s skills going to work immediately. Unfortunately, even frozen, they clung to Tal’Ket’s back, but Verin wasn’t the only one who went to work. Summoning up a blade of fire, I raced from foe to foe, slicing them apart at their base and sending their frozen forms plummeting down to the clouds. It was a lurching, chaotic affair, but with wind magic keeping me from falling away, I somehow managed.

On the few occasions I had a moment to breathe, I did my best to assist with the main fight, firing off a few dual air and frost arrows. The majority of them went wide, but with the extra speed from the air mana, a small handful managed to pierce Din’Ket’s sludgy form, frost radiating out from the impact sites.

If perhaps the fight wasn’t going perfectly, I liked to think we were doing pretty well. Over and over again, blades of wind sliced into the usurper while blasts of air threatened to send it toppling out of the sky. True, Din’Ket was hardly sitting idle, but with us handling the elementals, it felt like we had the upper hand.

Just as I had that thought, another toxic cloud washed over us right as Tal’Ket was pulling off a particularly daring feat of aerial acrobatics. I easily resisted the damage from the cloud, but its effects on my vision were an entirely separate matter. The only warning I ended up getting was a brief flare of Danger Sense.

You have been hit with a Mud Bolt for 230hp!

Before I could even comprehend what was happening, I was sent flying through the air as a fridge-sized chunk of mud attempted to burrow through my chest. A series of cracks sounded out, which I at first thought would be my bones, only to realize they were from Verin’s glacier instead.

Not content to simply paste me with its blunt force, the mud decided to go one step further, reforming and encasing my legs.

You have been bound! Movement skills locked.

Even that would have been fine, all things considered. Once we fell into the clouds, the mud would get washed away.

Unfortunately, Din’Ket had other plans. Not having as much luck with the Roc Lord, the usurper decided to switch her attention to easier prey.

In a moment of deja vu, Verin and I fell through the skies as the monstrous abomination homed in on us, splitting the air with a blood-curdling shriek. This time, however, it had far less distance to cross, and in only a second, its wide-open maw blotted out the entire sky, ready to swallow us whole.

A second. Maybe two at the most, before we would have been bird chow.

And then-

Snick.

A resplendent wing sliced through Din’Ket’s head.

The chopped off beak veered off to the side, even as Tal’Ket summoned a gust of wind to blast us away. Before I could get my bearings, we’d already returned to his back.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

A part of me thought that would be it, but of course, we couldn’t be so lucky. Just as it had previously, Din’Ket reformed, pulling its two halves together. If anything, Tal’Ket had taken more damage from the attack, his wing now entirely covered in mud.

I shot off to clear the ever-growing elementals, but another crack from Verin’s glacier pulled me up short.

Unsummoning her defensive skill, the noble shouted out over the fierce winds. “Lady Tess! What happened to Calilah!”

I froze, my head darting around to catch sight of the rogue-turned-warrior. I half-expected her to reappear right behind us, but even with Verin’s question, she remained hidden. Had she fallen off? When? And how?

As if waiting for that exact moment, a lone figure screamed with all her might.

“WOOOOOOOOOOO!” Despite her great volume, I could barely hear Cal at all.

Quite notably, that was because she was not on Tal’Ket’s back.

Perched directly atop Din’Ket’s head and with the most giddy, jubilant expression I’d ever seen, was the grand and holy princess of Ftheran.

“When did she even…” Nearly rendered speechless, it was all Verin could do to mumble out her words. “And is she holding something?”

As a matter of fact, she was. Grasped between her hands, of all things, was a bucket. One I recognized, too.

“Has anyone told you that you’re a little dirty? Here, enjoy a quick bird bath.” With far too much fanfare, Cal then dumped the entirety of the bucket’s contents on Din’Ket’s head. For good measure, she followed that off with an empowered strike before leaping from the usurper’s body with a cheery shout.

A warbled shriek slammed into us as a massive patch of Din’Ket’s head began to dissolve, its cries growing distorted as its mouth succumbed to the effect as well. Where the mud was washed away, feathers fell free, robbing the usurper of its aerial power.

It wasn’t quite a finishing blow, but it didn’t need to be. That honor, after all, was meant for someone else.

Seizing the moment, Tal’Ket soared upwards and summoned his strongest blast of wind yet. Momentarily powerless to stop him, all Din’Ket could do was watch as the gale surged into her, a sonic boom sounding out from the speed of the blow.

Sent rocketing downwards, Din’Ket at last fell into the clouds.

Subjected to the powerful cleansing magic, half of her body sloughed off, even before she disappeared from view.

Taking only a brief detour to swoop over to Cal and catch her, Tal’Ket wasted no time in declaring his victory, filling the air with his triumphant cries. Once more, the massive roc was the uncontested lord of the skies.

Or, he should have been. Cal was quick to note that such celebrations were premature.

“Hey! Did you get a notification that she’s dead? Or did you see our quest get marked as completed? Because I didn’t! Go, go, go! I don’t want to have to do that all over again.” Cal tugged on a few feathers, as if she could steer Tal’Ket if she tried hard enough.

If somewhat indignant, the Roc Lord did eventually get the point, following in his sister’s wake by swooping into the clouds. What little mud still covered him was washed away, and soon the skies gave way to the muddy earth below.

Muddy earth that, quite notably, was rapidly pulling itself together.

A mound of sludge surged and twisted about, a few errant feathers poking out of it. Several beaked maws formed from the sludge, all of them letting out their own discordant screeches. Even having been pushed through the clouds, the lord of the earth would not be defeated so easily.

Din’Ket the Usurper: Level 18, 800/1300hp

Alive or not, the writing was on the wall. With much of her strength washed away, she had no chance of fighting against her brother.

Not as she was, at least.

More and more mud flowed into the growing mound, and as we watched, Din’Ket’s level ticked up by one. A single level was hardly cause for alarm, but as if to taunt us, another mass of mud began to rush in from the distance.

Fragment of Din’Ket

Well before we could intercept it, the fragment joined up with its originator, melding into the main body.

Din’Ket the Usurper: Level 24, 2500/3000hp

A shockwave rolled off of the mud, partly physical, partly made of mana. It spread through the entire region, and as I watched it unfold, Understanding perked up.

“A homing signal…” I mumbled out. It was summoning the rest of its wayward fragments.

A tense silence reigned over the battlefield as Din’Ket waited for the many fragments of her former self to join her.

And waited.

And… waited.

“Told you it was a good idea,” Cal muttered, reclining as best she could on Tal’Ket’s back.

“Lady Calilah, need I remind you whose idea it was in the first place? I cannot fathom why you seem to be acting like you came up with it. Anyone could see it was a hazard to leave those things alone. Though I will admit we did miss one…” Verin bristled even as she absorbed the thinly veiled praise. The two continued to bicker as the lord of the earth waited for reinforcements that would never come.

After all, while Cal had gone off on her own to collect all the feathers, Verin and I had needed to do something, right?

If perhaps it wasn’t one of the most pleasant weeks of my life, we’d gotten very, very good at killing fragments.

It would have been nice to say that the battle ended in some fitting act of epic heroism or some grand clash worthy of song. Without access to her many fragments, however, Din’Ket barely put up a fight.

Anemic tendrils of mud shot into the sky, not even reaching Tal’Ket, let alone harming him. More toxic clouds erupted from her form, diffusing and dispersing before we could breathe them in. All the while, more mouths formed from every inch of the monstrosity below, screaming in rage, resentment, denial.

Unhurried, and perhaps a bit reluctant, Tal’Ket gathered all his might for one final working. In a distorted reflection to his sister below, Tal’Ket released his own pulse of mana. As it spread through the sky, a single crack of thunder drowned out the cries below.

And after the thunder, a drop.

And then another.

And another, and another after that.

All throughout the entire region, the omnipresent cloud cover began to weep, a scattered trickle giving way to a steady downpour to a raging deluge.

What by all rights should have created more mud somehow did the exact opposite. Wherever the water touched, all traces of dirt were washed away. Like a powerful acid, each drop continued straight down, scouring the earth until only water and bedrock remained.

In this, Din’Ket was not spared. Bit by bit, the once mighty lord of the earth was devoured by the biblical flood, frantically switching between all manner of defensive skills only for all of them to fail.

Having spent both their moisture and their magic, the clouds began to thin, and the downpour at last began to slow. When finally the rain came to a complete stop, not a cloud remained. Instead, clear skies looked down upon a transformed land.

Entirely uprooted, trees and patches of grass floated atop the newly formed lake. The pervasive scent of dirt and grime gave way to a subtler petrichor, and the air, first filled with hateful cries and then by the steady patter of the storm, at last settled into a complete silence.

In that silence, the notification at last rolled in.

Your party has defeated Din’Ket the Usurper.

Tal’Ket, too, was uncharacteristically quiet. Rather than announce his victory or celebrate his newfound freedom, the lord of the skies flew off. Past the many sky islands, past the tower he once called home, the roc flew on until all traces of the flood below were behind him.

Upon clearing the entire region, he landed, depositing the three of us in a patch of virgin grass. With a fluid, avian grace, he bowed, opening his beak. Rather than any sort of caw, the sounds that came out were entirely recognizable and in a resonant baritone.

“Thank you. A small part of me had hoped there might be some other ending to this tale, but it seems my sister was too far gone. You have my gratitude for putting her to rest at last.” With a wave of his wings, a giant golden chest appeared by his talons.

Evidently not content with only that, the Roc Lord reached up to his head, plucking off three of the largest of his feathers. Under our gazes, the feathers shrunk and transformed themselves before rushing off towards the three of us. One curled about, snapping in place on my ankle, another doing much the same, but as a ring for Cal. The third wove itself into Verin’s hair, the light blue pattern complementing her white locks.

Quest Completed: Clear Skies II

Without another word, the Roc Lord flew off, taking to the skies. In the wake of his sister’s defeat, in addition to whatever gifts he’d given us, the noble roc had left behind an air of solemnity.

In the end, it was Cal who finally broke the silence by giving voice to what we were all thinking.

“Oh shit. He can talk.”

While the others took in that sudden revelation, I quickly found myself overloaded.

In front of us stood an unknown trove of rewards. Behind us sat a new and unexplored region. And before I could deal with either, I had something even bigger to take care of.

As I scanned through the many notifications our quest completion had sparked, one stood out more than the rest.

Congratulations! You have reached level 16!