Loch ducked, the sword slicing by inches above his head. He twisted, kicking out, catching the elf in the knee, the cracking of bone barely heard over the sound of the fighting around them. He ignored the other sounds, focusing on his opponent.
The elf was good, the strongest he’d come across yet. His Evaluate gave a feeling of just below Loch’s own Level. Probably Twenty-Three or Twenty-Four. That would have put the Elf in the Level Thirty to Forty range on any non-restricted Connected World. Being that Earth was newly Connected, all the invaders were capped at Level Twenty-Five, adjusted below that for their starting Level. According to Cerie, it wasn’t a direct adjustment but more fluid with other things besides starting Level factoring into it. Only the Connected System knew the exact formula it used. Loch didn’t care. He just knew all the Invaders would be below Level Twenty-Five.
But as they had discussed, that didn’t adjust their experience or Achievements.
Loch was facing that now. This elf was below his Level but the years of combat experience was showing. He’d gotten lucky with the knee kick, it had been one of the few openings the elf had given him. Sword against axe and Loch’s Bulwark shield. The elf just had the one weapon, not even a bow or dagger. No shield but didn’t seem to need it.
Backing away, the elf shifted his stance, taking weight off the bad knee. He didn’t appear to be in pain and it didn’t seem to affect his overall fighting. He slid back another step, holding his sword out to keep Loch at bay. Taking a couple swings with Onyx, the metal of the axe struck the metal of the sword, which darted back, stabbing over the axe before Loch could bring it back around. It was meant as an attack, Loch not even in range of the point, but more to show Loch that the elf wasn’t any slower. The move did make Loch step back, putting more space between the two.
The elf put some weight on the bad leg, wincing a bit, then smiling as the pain apparently wasn’t that bad. He put more weight on it. Loch threw Onyx, hoping to catch the elf off guard. Twisting to the side, not even moving his feet, the elf avoided the hasty throw, smiling as he saw Loch weaponless. He rushed at Loch, only to pull up short as Onyx swung down, the axe enlarging as it moved. The sword came up, blocking the axe, the elf grunting as more weight and force was put on the damaged knee. It started to buckle.
Loch shifted Bulwark, shrinking the size of the shield and sending spikes stabbing out. The elf twisted, awkwardly holding the sword to stop the swing of Onyx, twisting the ankle of his wounded leg, barely avoiding the spikes. Even off balance, the elf managed to slide his sword forward, forcing Loch to let up some of the pressure he was exerting with the axe. Not wanting to give up ground, knowing he had to end the fight, Loch Activated Elemental Surge.
A bubble of elemental energy formed around Loch, pushing against the elf. Lighting crackled, forming the edge of the bubble, snapping into the elf. His body went rigid, eyes wide as bolts of lightning danced across his body. He dropped the sword, Loch quickly taking advantage. Onyx swung, cutting through the elf’s neck. The head dropped to the ground as the bubble of energy dispersed, the body following.
YOU HAVE KILLED SILVER BARK SWORD DANCER
Multi-colored sparks drifted up, circling in the air before launching into Loch’s body. He ignored the rush of Spirit, the one kill giving him a decent boost to his mental experience bar. Scanning the small clearing, he saw the other fights were ending. The only bodies on the ground belonging to Silver Bark elves.
Loch didn’t relax,eyes going to the woods, trying to see if there was anything or anyone hiding in the shadows of the trees. Elora and Harper were already crossing the clearing, Harper disappearing into the shadows, moving to scout out the area and make sure it really was clear.
Turning, Loch looked at the reason for the fight. A small mound of grass with some boulders sticking out was the only feature in the clearing. Stone steps led down into an opening in the mound, ringed with square stones. It looked more like a crypt, then a Dungeon but it was a Resource Dungeon. They weren’t sure what kind yet.
“You sure we can go in?,” Loch asked Cerie, the fairy buzzing near the entrance where Piper had been crouched for most of the fight, her inksummons darting around the legs of the elves to provide distractions.
“Yes, it is off cycle. The Silver Bark have not run this Dungeon in a while. It might have even reached overloaded state if it wasn’t a Resource Dungeon.”
Loch nodded, understanding. Dungeons were built off spirit, the Dungeoncore taking the Spirit of the world and creating the Dungeon and the Monsters. It kept doing that constantly, the monsters in the Dungeon spawning over and over. The Dungeon had to be cleared, all the Spirit used up by killing the monsters and earning that Spirit as experience. The Dungeoncore would be left with nothing and have to start over again. When a Dungeon wasn’t cleared, it could approach high levels of monsters and eventually burst through the portal.
That didn’t happen with Resource Dungeons. They had a set number of Resources they would spawn during any cycle. It never changed unless the Dungeon someone Leveled up. A rare event. But those Resources still took time to regenerate. When a Resource Dungeon was cleared, no one could enter again until the Resources were fully regenerated. It didn’t matter how long it had been since the last time the Silver Bark had cleared it. There was a chance they never had.
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“Drew, get your team in there,” Loch said, stepping out of the way.
The stairs down weren’t that wide, meaning the group of Clan Brady members had to walk single file. One by one, the seven people disappeared through the portal. When they had planned this operation, one of the biggest sticking points had been how many to send into the portal.
Scouts had found the Resource Dungeon, claimed by the Silver Bark. It had been guarded by a dozen elven guards. Over a day’s travel from the school, and a day from where they knew the Silver Bark camp to be. Almost directly between the two. The elves had been mostly swordsmen, or some variation of. There had been two with axes and one with a hammer. Two had worn robes, casters or healers. Those were the first the Clan Brady ambushers had killed.
Loch didn’t feel great about ambushing the Silver Bark. There was just something off about being the aggressors, but Loch reminded himself that this was their home. The Silver Bark did not belong. For Loch’s people to survive, the Silver Bark threat had to be eliminated.
And the Resource Dungeon was the perfect first target.
Loch’s group, along with Drew’s and two Harvesters, to deal with the dozen Silver Bark. Elora had thought that the guards wouldn’t be that high Level or elites of the invading force. She had been right. The group had been around Level Ten, which still put them equal or higher than most of Clan Brady, but aside from the one Loch had faced, there had been no truly elite warriors. They were what the majority of the Silver Bark forces were. Common and Uncommon Classes, not much if any powerful magical equipment, the basics in training. Just like in Clan Brady, the majority of the people in the Silver Bark didn’t aspire to be Adventurers or carve out a role as a powerful member of the Clan. They just wanted to live their lives, and to survive.
Loch felt bad about killing them, but there had been no choice.
They were what most of Clan Brady was. The guards that patrolled the school and were providing protection to the Harvesters and Scavengers.
Loch moved over to one of the bodies. He bent down, grabbing it by the shoulders. It still surprised him how strong he had gotten. Lifting a full grown human used to be hard, requiring two people to manage it easily. Now Loch could do it on his own. Brian walked by, the large man carrying two of the bodies, one over each shoulder. Loch shook his head, dragging the body off behind the mound.
***
Loch looked at the pile of gear they’d looted from the Silver Bark. The swords and shields weren’t anything special but would help replace some of the makeshift weapons they were still using back at the school. The leather armor wouldn’t fit most humans, the elves were too tall and slender, but it could possibly be used as material for the Clan Crafters working to become Leatherworkers. There was a small amount of rations and other various camping supplies.
He was disappointed in the lack of coins and gems. Elora hadn’t been. Most of the Silver Bark guards wouldn’t have been running Dungeons. Their only chance at any loot would have been the random monster attacks on the camp or any they came across on patrols. Whatever they found would be given to the Silver Bark Clan’s Quartermaster, awarding them contribution points they could use to purchase food, equipment upgrades or other rewards. Only the strong got to keep things they had found as loot with those same strong able to use their Contribution Points to purchase things found by others.
Cerie had said that such systems were common on Connected Worlds. Loch hated it, just reminding him of how the Connected System was geared toward those with the strength to take what they wanted. Not that the old Earth systems had been any better. Capitalism and Socialism had been flawed but it was really the people that had made them that way. In their pure and ideal forms, each could work but people ruined them. He hoped they could do better this second time around.
“Load it up, Pipes,” he said, moving away from the pile.
His daughters replaced him at the pile. Piper held her Spatial Bag open, Harper loading the loot in. Loch wanted to help, but it was his turn on watch. It had been a couple of hours since Drew had led the team into the Resource Dungeon and they weren’t sure how long it would take to clear the entire thing. There was no way of knowing how big the Dungeon would be.
They’d brought enough supplies for a couple of days, just to be safe, but had no intention of scavenging any houses. What they found in the Dungeon, or out, would have to fit in Piper and Drew’s Spatial Bags.
Julia sat in the middle of the clearing, near the Dungeon, waiting. Her job was simple, just to be there in case the team needed healing when they exited. Everyone else, they spent time on guard duty, standing about ten feet in from the edge of the forest, in a semi-circle around the mound, watching for Silver Bark or monsters.
Loch wished he had brought more than just his team and Drews. Another full team or even a half dozen guards would have helped secure the clearing, making him feel safer. But it had been decided to be a lean operation. They’d found the Dungeon, saw the Silver Bark guards, and took the opportunity. That and there just wasn’t enough people to spare.
Not that he thought the Silver Bark would come. From all appearances, the elves hadn’t really cared about the Resource Dungeon. And their camp was over a day away. It would take time and hopefully Loch and the others would be gone by then.
He had no intention of holding onto the Dungeon. It was a message, the same as the one the Silver Bark had left. Just more polite. They had killed but were not butchers. There would be no hanging bodies. Loch had made sure they’d laid the bodies out with care, not just piling them on top of each other. They had showed the vanquished foe as much dignity as they could.
Not that it would matter. The Silver Bark Elders wouldn’t care.
He had once hoped to make peace with the elves. See if there was a way for both to coexist. With the world enlarged by the Connection, there was no reason why they shouldn’t be able to but for greed. It always came down to greed. After what the Silver Bark had done to his people, hanging them, there was no chance for peace.
Loch hated that it was coming to war, but he wouldn’t let his people lose.