Helen looked out over the flat field of stone and earth where the Warlord and Guinevere and her party had disappeared down into. Atrel had dragged her back before the weapon had fallen from the sky and dragged dozens of soldiers from all their armies down into the chasm with them. Now there was silence as everyone stood in shock.
“Did we win?” Felrick asked, giving Atrel a look.
Atrel released Helen. “Sorry for that but I couldn’t risk you being dragged into the chasm.”
“You knew that would happen?” Helen asked glaring at him.
“My family has had an artifact capable of that in their possession since the last Warlord,” Atrel said.
“Then why didn’t we just use that on the Warlord right away?” Jamis asked.
“He could have moved if he wasn’t distracted,” Atrel answered. “Also, that was its last charge, the artifact is just a useless spear now if it even still exists.”
“Why didn’t we get a notification for killing the Warlord?” Chiron asked.
“That’s your question?” Mira snapped as she turned a glare on Atrel. “You just sacrificed one of our companions and the most powerful member of our army for that attack.”
“I will not apologize for doing what was necessary to achieve victory,” Artel said. “Guinevere said herself she was willing to die to achieve victory against the Warlord.”
“Did we?” Jamis asked. “We still haven’t gotten a notification for killing him, our quest should have updated if he was dead.”
Targets last condition before entering a System Dead Zone was Living and Stable. Confirmation of death will be required before rewards will be given.
Jamis and rest of the champions present blinked away the notification.
“That’s unfortunate,” Felrick said. “How likely is that weapon killed him?”
“It dropped them two miles underground and dropped all that rock on after them,” Atrel said. “I believe it is safe to assume he is dead now.”
“And so is Guinevere,” Mira said.
“Enough Mira,” Helen said. “While we may dislike Atrel’s methods, he did defeat the Warlord. We can’t be sure Guinevere would have been able to defeat him in battle it didn’t look good for her at the end there.”
“She would have,” Mira insisted.
“We can talk about this later,” Jamis said. “For now we need to deal with Warlord’s army. They running away, do we let them?”
The champions turned and it was like Jamis had said. Even the Dragonbreakers were sprinting towards their castle. They flowed inside like rats fleeing into their nest.
“So, their leader dies and they lose all their courage,” Atrel scoffed a cruel smile curving his lips.
A shadow swept over the battlefield.
Everyone looked up just as a torrent of green and blue flames ripped apart a group of archers reducing them all to ashes. The boom that shook the land as the fire struck and devoured the air itself nearly sent everyone off their feet.
A dragon landed on the battlefield. Its scales were glossy black like obsidian, but each were edged with glowing red and orange like live coals. The dragon’s eyes were a bright scarlet and glowed with a light all their own.
Exar’kun Lord the Star-fallen, Gifted- Veteran, Hell-dragon, Rank 384
The pride and scorn that had filled Atrel moments ago vanished his face ash white as he looked upon his Clan’s Sacred Animal. They had to sneak into its nest when it was out hunting to gather fallen scales to use for their mutations no one who encountered the Exar’kun had ever survived. In his younger days the young dragon had decimated entire war parties cementing himself as the true king of the forest.
“I’ve been growing my power for over a century,” Exar’kun said, he didn’t shout but his voice still carried over the entire battlefield. “I can’t enter dungeons like you small creatures, so I’ve had to hunt for the scraps the system has spawned into the forest. But now that you Champions have arrived the forest has been thick with game. I’ve acquired all the abilities I need to reach next rank; now I just need the rank points. How fortunate for me that there are so many here right now.”
“What do we do?” Jamis asked flexing his clawed gauntlets.
“Run!” Atrel said, grabbing Helen and throwing her over his shoulder.
Atrel was Veteran ranked so he was able to carry the much smaller woman easily on his shoulders as he took off running. All around the soldiers of the Dragon Clan broke ranks and fled in all directions. The soldiers of Lunaren and Camelot slower on the uptake held their ground bunching together and activating their defensive abilities.
The cursed energy that infused Exar’kun’s fire chewed through their shields, barriers and blockades. Screams filled the air as men and women roasted in their armor. A group of Camelot knights charged the dragon with their weapons glowing with power as they activated abilities. The dragon’s tail whipped around crushing them against the ground.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
While some of the Camelot knights were close to Exar’kun in rank a dragon had advantages that couldn’t be quantified by the number at the end of his description. The dragon tore into the army with his tail, claws, fire and fangs ripping anyone who didn’t flee to shreds.
They might have won the battle against Mordred, but in the end, they had lost the War against the dragon.
--
Guinevere dusted herself off and helped push a boulder off of Regald’s leg. They’d landed without killing themselves but the rocks falling from above had done significant damage to them.
“What happened,” Edrick asked sheathing his daggers and pulling them out again in a nervous gesture.
“One of our allies decided to sacrifice us to take out the Warlord,” Guinevere said.
“Is he dead?” Haldros asked.
“Most likely,” Guinevere said. “But we need to make sure. Kira heal Regald’s leg we need to get moving.”
“I can’t!” Kira said in panic.
Guinevere frowned. “The curse from the Warlord can’t still be active.”
“No,” Kira said desperation in her voice. “I can’t use any of my healing abilities. Soothing Waters, Mending Touch, Restoring Light!” she rattled off her abilities trying them all but none of them would do anything.
Guinevere frowned and swung her sword. “Royal Blade,” she said. No light surrounded her blade, and she couldn’t even see her mana or stamina bars.
“What’s going on” Edrick asked nervously.
“We’re cut off from the system,” Guinevere said. “Any abilities that require activation aren’t going to work here, my passives all seem active are all yours working?”
Haldros spun his staff in hand then closed his eyes. “Yes everything I have is functioning.”
“What are we going to do?” Edrick asked.
“We’re going to stay calm,” Guinevere said. “We need to find and make sure the Warlord is dead then find a way out of here. Regald drink one of the emergency health potions, Kira you’ll have to stay back and focus on just not being attacked now. We don’t have a healer so any damage we take can’t be healed without the use of potions and we don’t have many of those.”
They spread out and looked about the long dark tunnel they were in. Finding branching paths, they continued searching for them. They found dozens of people crushed under rocks or crumbled on the ground. Guinevere motioned for them to stop and gestured with her sword.
A man lay crumpled against the wall. Approaching him Guinevere bent down and investigated him more closely.
“He has to be the Warlord,” she said.
“Can you be sure?” Edrick asked.
“He’s the right size and that’s his weapon,” she said gesturing to the doubled ended spear in his dead fingers.
Removing his helmet, she looked on the ashen face of the man blood matting his hair flat to his head where his skull had caved in.
“I’m sorry,” Guinevere said. “But you chose to serve evil, and you have paid the price for it now.”
An unearthly scream tore through the air and she and her party whirled around their hands going to their weapons.
--
Holding Sarah tight against me we looked up at the stars. We’d rode out here on my motorcycle after sneaking her out of her parents’ house. We were miles from the lights of the city and could see all the brilliance and the beauty of the night sky.
“You’re going to get in trouble with your foster parents,” Sarah said turning her head and looking up at me. “Mine too.”
“Only if they find out,” I said back kissing her on her forehead.
We lapsed into silence for a moment.
“What do you want to be?” Sarah asked me.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But whatever it is I want to do it with you.”
Sarah laughed.
“Too corny?” I asked.
“No, I loved it,” Sarah said leaning back against my chest.
“I want to be doctor, I want to help people,” she said.
“I think you’d be good at that,” I said. “I don’t think I would though. I don’t always get along well with others, and I don’t think I have the patience to make it through medical school. I want to build things, maybe an architect.”
“You’re pretty good at drawing,” Sarah said. “I think you’d make a great architect.”
We were silent for a time as I held her in my arms. The summer night cool and comfortable against our skin a light breeze blowing across us. With Sarah right there I felt invincible, like I could do anything and become anyone. She was a source of strength I didn’t even know I could have, and I’d do anything to make her happy.
“I love you,” I whispered in her ear.
Sarah froze and I realized it was the first time I’d ever said that to her. Her breathing quickening, she turned around looking into my eyes. Tentatively she leaned up pressing her lips against mine softly. Our kiss deepened, she slid onto my lap pushing me down onto the blanket we’d spread out. My hands traced her body as our tongues probed each other’s mouths in a passionate desperate need for each other.
Soon I felt her naked skin against mine, the ecstasy of joining together.
When we rode back to her parents’ place, she kissed me as she slid off my motorcycle. Her brilliant blue eyes stuck in my mind the joy and laughter there haunting me no matter how much I tried to forget them.
I jerked awake out of the painful memory.
“What happened?” I asked looking around.
We got sucked down some giant hole in the ground and it closed above us, Karnen said. We’ve got some good news and bad news.
“What’s the bad news?” I asked.
We were able to deactivate Black Rage when we lost contact with the system, Voidra said.
“And the bad news?” I asked.
We lost contact with the system, Karnen said. You’re limited to your passive abilities until you get out of this field of effect or find a way to shut it down.
“Hell Dragon’s Armory,” I said testing it out. Nothing happened, no mana was expended, and no effect took place. “Interesting, why don’t we have contact with the system?”
Probably some enchantment or either that or you somehow dropped into a god’s temple, Karnen said.
“Well, let’s find out,” I said pushing myself to my feet. “Where is my spear?”
That other guy you tried to help out had it last, Voidra said.
“Guess I’m back to using these,” I said pulling out my two clubs. I put one in my belt and took out my shield slipping my arm through the straps.
I sense something coming down the tunnel, Voidra warned me.
I turned and braced myself my shield in front as my four pupils began scanning high and low. A six-legged cat-like creature made of shadow leapt out from tunnel. It released a scream from its mouth that made me want to plug my ears and curl in on myself but instead I ducked down. The claws of my club raked along its underbelly. Black ichor spilled out and floated through the air as if it was underwater before vanishing. The cat turned around to face me, but I was already moving. My club came down from the right passing through and disrupting the spectral cat’s form.
It yallowed in pain again but my club was already coming back around and silenced it with another hit. Slowly its body began to melt into the ground.
“That was interesting,” I said. “Too bad I can’t see if that thing had rank points or not. Can I still get those in place like this?”
No, Karnen said. Rank points are distributed by the system, no access to it no new rank points or abilities or progress for your quests.
“A shame,” I said.
My ears picked up on the sound of footfalls again. The cat had been soundless, but these were much heavier soon I felt the tread of bipedal creatures in the area of detection from Tremor Soles. Turning around I got a look at the six people approaching me, one of them with a minor limp.
Well, Karnen said. Here we go again.