Karl climbed up onto the roof and lay on his stomach next to Elora on a three-story town hall that overlooked the chaos happening below. It was the tallest building in the town.
“So far so good,” Elora whispered. The elf’s eyes were scanning for any signs of illusion magic.
Below them was the hiss and slapping sounds made by the crossbows combined with the pitter patter of sling stones. The noise was like a deadly rainstorm. Zel and Karl were below them on the ground level. The knight, along with the ghouls, were ready for any pirates that were able to make it through Karl’s traps, Zel’s zombies, and the Halfling slingers. A bright light flared to their south, followed by the cacophony of sling stones and explosions.
“They are coming in from all sides,” Elora observed.
“Aye, I better go and check out the south,” Karl responded.
The Ooraki made his way back down, and Elora knew that he carried a sack of enchanted sling bullets that exploded on contact. The elf squinted at the scene below. Despite Karl’s light enchantments, the area was still mostly dark, and Elora had not seen any sign of the Pirate Queen. There were no more illusions or trickery, and the elf wondered why. Elora suddenly tensed and drew her blades. Something was amiss, and she was in trouble.
“Impressive, half-elf,” a deep feminine voice hissed.
Elora spun around, and materializing from the darkness was an elf maiden with pale skin and emerald eyes that pierced the darkness like a flaming spear. This elf was different from any other elf that Elora had met. Her ears were much longer, and her facial features were smoother. Without any doubt, the elf maiden was beautiful to look at, despite the danger she presented. Elora was shocked that she did not have the pupilless eyes that marked all spellcasters, yet the strange elf maiden before her was clearly able to use magic.
“Pirate Queen,” Elora whispered.
The pale elf bowed with slow and precise movements. “At your service,” she replied.
The Pirate Queen attacked with a graceful skip of her legs and a simple flick of her wrist to slash with their blade. Elora easily sidestepped the slice but dared not to counter it. Instead, she kept her two weapons held in front of her.
The Pirate Queen sneered, and like a flowing river, she lunged forward, slashing high with her sword and low with her dagger. Elora dodged the sword attack while deflecting the dagger thrust with her blade and returned a slice of her own. The Pirate Queen was out of range, and the two circled each other on the narrow rooftop. Elora stepped back and completed an incantation. The Pirate Queen’s eyes narrowed as she rushed to close the distance. A pure ball of darkness sprang in between the two and Elora took the opportunity to escape. As the half-elf spun around to climb down from the rooftop, her eyes widened as she saw the darkness being sucked in by the Pirate Queen’s blades.
“Nameless!” Elora called out as she landed on the ground below.
The knight and ghouls rushed with weapons and claws at the ready.
“What is it?” Nameless asked.
“The Pirate Queen!” Elora answered, pointing up.
On the roof, they could see the pale elf with emerald eyes wielding two blades of pure darkness.
“I think I made her swords stronger,” Elora whispered.
The Pirate Queen held her arms out and jumped, flipped, and twirled to land on the ground in front of them with her swords held to the sides at the ready.
“That was really unnecessary,” Zel observed with a scoff.
Without hesitation, Nameless rushed in with his two-handed sword. The knight chopped, the elf sidestepped, and Nameless shifted his grip and hips to slash. The Pirate Queen deflected the blow with her sword while stabbing at the gaps in Nameless’s gauntlets with her dagger.
ARMOR MAGIC REMAINING: 26.15%
CLERICS
CLERICS ARE TRUE BELIEVERS, AND THEY RECEIVE THEIR POWERS AS “GIFTS” FROM THEIR GODS. DUE TO THEIR INTENSE FAITH, THE GODS CAN COMMUNICATE WITH THEM WITH VISIONS AND DREAMS, EVEN THROUGH THE MEMBRANES OF REALITIES. CLERICS WERE RARE EVEN BEFORE THE GOBLINS ACTIVATED THE MACHINERY IN THE WASTELAND. A CLERIC CAN USE THEIR POWERS, WHICH IS A FORM OF MAGIC, WITHOUT BEING TAINTED. THOUGH THERE ARE LIMITS TO THE POWER AS IT TIES DIRECTLY TO THEIR SOULS.
PURE ELF
THE PIRATE QUEEN IS A PURE ELF, AND YOU DON’T SEE MANY OF THOSE AROUND! PURE ELVES ARE VERY RARE, AS ELVES AND HUMANS HAVE BEEN MIXING FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS. THE MAJORITY OF ELVES YOU SEE NOW ARE ACTUALLY “HALF-ELVES.” SO MUCH SO THAT THE TERM “HALF-ELF” IS NO LONGER IN USE. PURE ELVES LIVE MUCH LONGER THAN HUMANS AND HALF-ELVES AND ARE CONSIDERED MAGICAL CREATURES, WHICH MAKES THEM FASTER AND MORE ATTUNED TO MAGICAL POWERS. BE CAREFUL!
Nameless retreated a few steps as the magic armor sealed the damage to the mail on his hand. The Pirate Queen was good, and her dagger strike was insanely fast and accurate. Zel nodded, and their ghouls rushed forward with hisses and snarls. In a blur of movement and a swish of steel, both undead servants stumbled back with numerous gashes. Ghoul One was missing a hand.
“How dare you!” Snarled Zel as they hurled a flurry of flaming spheres.
The Pirate Queen dodged with leaps and twirls and didn’t receive so much as a singe from the flaming onslaught. The two ghouls were able to limp away as Nameless once again rushed in to engage the Pirate Queen. The two battled back and forth in a near-constant flow of attacks, evasions, and counters. Eventually, Nameless needed to retreat back with purple magic oozing from slashes to the gaps in his armor on his elbow joints, knees, and wrists.
ARMOR MAGIC REMAINING: 20.50%
Elora made a half dozen images of Nameless springing out from the knight in different directions to assist with his retreat. The Pirate Queen smirked and spun in a full circle, with her blades slashing outwards, sending a wave of shadowy energy. The magic pushed the others back and caused the illusions to flicker and vanish.
“Attack as one,” Nameless growled.
Zel launched fire darts from the Pirate Queen’s left flank while Elora darted in to slash from the right. Nameless charged up the center, and the four battled furiously. The Pirate Queen evaded the fiery darts, and in a whirlwind of steel fury, she parried and countered slashes from Elora and Nameless. The two were forced to pull back, and Elora discovered she was bleeding from slashes to her arms and cheek. The Pirate Queen stood straight with her blades at her sides and was untouched. She was not even breathing hard.
“Give me the Gifted One, and I will be gone,” the Pirate Queen simply stated.
Nameless shifted his stance and changed tactics by raising his sword high over his head. This approach was geared more toward counterattacks than offense, and it baited opponents to engage. The emerald-eyed elf sneered and leaped in to attack again.
ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF TOWN
A half dozen pirates armed with shields and cutlasses broke through the explosive barrage from the Halfling slingers. They charged toward the building as the Halflings frantically tried to stop them with a hail of sling bullets. Karl gripped the Dane Ax he received from Nameless and stepped in front of the charging pirates. Six of the pirates became four, as two stumbled to the ground. One was holding their bleeding face while the other gripped their shattered kneecap.
The pirates swarmed the Ooraki with hacking and slashing blades. Karl added more enchantments to his gear, including some new ones he learned from Goodewin’s book. With his Dane Ax, he parried a sword strike while stomping the ground with a rune-covered boot. A shock wave of earth erupted out from the floor, sending two pirates crashing onto their backs. His ax unleashed an electrical charge when it connected with the pirate’s blade to send out a spark that zapped three of the pirates causing them to seize up and fall, twitching. The fourth pirate’s blade bounced off of Karl’s shoulder as if it hit a stone wall. Fiery red runes appeared along Karl’s padded armor. Karl smirked, and in response, the pirate slammed their shield into the Ooraki’s face. Karl fell to the floor, stunned. A hail of slingshots rained down on the pirates. A few moments later, Karl sputtered awake to find a small hand offering to lift him off the ground.
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“Get up. More are coming.” The Halfling slinger stated.
IN FRONT OF THE TOWN HALL
Nameless studied the Pirate Queen and realized that she was subtly using her illusion magic to make herself appear to be moving faster. Upon closer inspection, Nameless saw the blurred images of her illusion move rapidly while her actual self was just behind. Like with all illusion magic, once it is spotted by the mind, it fades and is no longer effective. The knight nodded and chopped down with his blade at the right moment. The Pirate Queen barely dodged and was nicked on her forehead, and dark blood trickled down her scowling face.
“I know you,” she snarled.
Elora circled on Nameless’s right, and Zel was recovering from their magical exertions. Nameless was content with knowing that the necromancer understood their limits and was not pushing them to risk insanity. The knight resumed his stance with his sword raised. He didn’t need to go on the offense. He was guarding the Gifted One. It was the Pirate Queen that needed to engage.
“The infamous Black Knight. Guardian to the Mad Mage, one of the greatest villains in the past two hundred years. You know, I dreamed of besting you when I was younger,” the Pirate Queen purred as she circled away from Elora.
Nameless shuffled his feet, sword held high and kept pace with the pure elf. Elora moved in to attack, and after a rapid exchange of steel, she needed to quickly retreat as it was clear the Pirate Queen would have won that bout. Nameless moved slowly forward, and the Pirate Queen smirked at him.
“I suppose it is fortunate that I get to face you now. I was too young and inexperienced back then, but I have since grown, and honestly, I do not feel challenged anymore. A hundred years, and I have surpassed everyone else in this realm. I was becoming bored,” she said. Her emerald eyes darted, and her lips twitched.
Elora attempted another push, but it was short-lived, and she received a shallow slash to her cheek.
“Know your place!” Hissed the Pirate Queen as Elora retreated, holding her wounded face.
A cross bolt slammed into Nameless’s chest.
ARMOR MAGIC REMAINING: 14.75%
“I shot ye in the head last time. I figure this time I see if you have a heart,” Sevren said from up the street to their east. He was flanked by a dozen armed pirates.
The Pirate Queen sneered. “Your time is up. Step aside and allow us to take the Gifted one,” she said with a nod of her head toward the double doors that led into the Townhall.
“I know she is in there,” the Pirate Queen added.
Karl appeared from the south with a group of Halfling Slingers. The Ooraki looked like a formidable warrior dressed in glowing rune-etched padded armor and wielding a large two-handed Dane Ax. The Slingers immediately fired at the pirates, who raised their shields. A few were too late, and they fell, grasping shattered limbs. Sevren began to reload his crossbow, and the pirates advanced with shields raised.
“Help them,” Nameless said to Zel and Elora.
The half-elf looked back and forth between the knight and the Pirate Queen.
“I will be fine,” Nameless answered the unspoken question.
The Pirate Queen tilted her head to the side and laughed at a secret joke.
Zel, with sufficient rest, used their necromancy to heal Ghoul One and Ghoul Two. Elora nodded, and they ran to join Karl to fight the pirates leaving Nameless with the Pirate Queen.
The Pirate Queen relaxed with her curved sword and dagger to her sides. “It is a lost cause, you know. My men are better equipped and stronger,” she said, not looking at Nameless but off to the distance.
Nameless resumed his stance with his sword raised above his head. The elf flashed into action. She feinted twice with shifting footsteps before moving in to attack. But Nameless saw through her tricks and chopped at the location where she was going. His blade clanged loudly on the knuckle guard of the Pirate Queen’s dagger hand and knocked the blade to the floor. The Pirate Queen retreated while nursing her hand, which had a thin line of blood dripping.
Nameless pressed the attack with a lunge, and the Pirate Queen was forced to parry with her saber. The knight fluidly rotated his wrists to allow his sword to transition from the thrust to a horizontal slash. The elf dodged the attack but was off balance and she fell on her rear. She frantically scooted away as Nameless shifted his blade once again to deliver a downward slice. The ground sparked as the Queen rolled back to their feet. Her hair was disheveled and her smirk was replaced with a fierce scowl. None of her tricks were working.
The Pirate Queen grinned. “You are worthy of the legends, Black Knight.”
“I am Nameless,” the knight replied.
The sounds of fighting to their left were replaced with the shuffling of booted feet. Her pirates broke through and formed a semi-circle before Nameless.
“The game has ended,” the elf said as she fixed her hair to stand among her men.
Nameless glanced past the pirates and saw that Elora, Karl, and Zel were still engaged in combat but were forced to retreat. He was glad that they were for the moment unharmed. However, he continued his duty, and he raised his weapon high again.
“It is hopeless!” The Pirate Queen snapped.
Six pirates swarmed the knight as the Pirate Queen bandaged her wounded hand. Two led the charge with their shields raised, and Nameless slashed their legs, causing them to stumble and howl in pain. One landed an ax on the knight’s shoulder while Nameless stabbed another pirate. Another smashed the face of the great helm with the edge of the shield forcing the knight back and losing his sword.
The three remaining pirates charged. Nameless yanked the ax that was embedded in his shoulder and hacked one pirate across the face as he kicked the second. The third slammed their ax and rattled the knight’s helmet.
ARMOR MAGIC REMAINING: 8.25%
Nameless stumbled to one knee with purple magic oozing from the rents and tears in his armor. The magic was slowly sealing, but he had taken too much damage. The Pirate Queen kicked him onto his back and she held her saber just above the armor’s eye slits.
“You fought well and have lost,” she said.
“My queen,” one of her two remaining pirates drew her attention around them.
Materializing from the darkness were dozens of lean goblin warriors with dark pupilless eyes. They wore dark-fitted mail armor and were armed with curved swords and daggers. Each goblin had a similar height and build to the Pirate Queen and stood about half a head shorter than the human pirates, but they carried the threat of power and violence.
“Swear to your god that you will forfeit the field,” a goblin with a mohawk and pierced nose ring hissed.
This one was unique and carried a two-handed curved sword with a razor edge.
The Pirate Queen scoffed, “I think not.”
“Your forces are still occupied. I will not allow you to stall us. I will ask one more time. Swear to your god that you will forfeit the field,” the mohawk goblin replied.
“Oh?” The Pirate Queen arched an eyebrow.
The goblins raised their weapons and took one step forward.
Behind the elf, her forces were still fighting with the Halflings, ghouls, and academy students. The Pirate Queen tilted her head and looked off into the distance mumbling as if she was having a conversation with a hidden being. Finally, her face snapped back into a scowl.
“Let’s depart,” she ordered her two remaining pirates.
The mohawk goblin blurred with shadowy tendrils and rapidly closed the distance to the Pirate Queen. The pure elf cleric was too tired and injured to respond fast enough as the curved blade was held to her throat.
“Swear it!” The goblin hissed.
“On Viaiter’s name, I promise to depart,” Pirate Queen gasped, true fear in her emerald eyes.
The goblins nodded, and the Pirate Queen scowled in rage. Even as a brigand and rogue, she could not go back on her oath. As fast as the invasion had started, the pirates left, and the fighting ended.
Milandra had come out, and she helped Nameless to her feet. Her touch was gentle and magic surged through the knight.
ARMOR MAGIC REMAINING: 30.50%
“How?” Nameless asked.
Milandra shrugged, “I am getting more connected to my purpose. I apologize, but I can’t do more.”
The goblins began to fade away, leaving the three familiar figures that Nameless had encountered.
The knight asked, “A bluff?”
Mohawk nodded and the three goblins bowed to Milandra.
“What now?” She asked.
“We take you to complete your purpose,” mohawk replied.
“Our purpose is to bring this world back to the way it was before the corruption from the gods,” another goblin said with a high-pitched voice.
“Can we trust them?” Nameless whispered into Milandra’s ear.
“No, but we don’t have much choice,” she answered back.