Dreaming Orora Page 10

  With a pop, Paragon materialized before him. He spun around few times then noticed Fitch, “as always, you are the first here.”

  “Well, I like to keep my timings, Oz?”

  “He just called, he’ll be in. Five minutes or so.”

  Talion popped soon after and Tala rode her Vagrant to where they stood five minutes after. A magnificent mount with a great looking lady atop galloped towards them. What a sight. They exchanged some pleasantries and all called their mounts ready to continue on the journey. Still Oz was nowhere to be found.

  “Where is your friend?” said Talion.

  “I’m talking to him, he’s on the log in screen,” Paragon said looking spaced out. Probably looking at his HUD. No sooner he finished, Oz popped in.

  “Sup guys?” Oz said.

  “You are late,” Talion said.

  “Yeah, sorry about that,” he took out a whistle and called his Vagrant. A small excuse of a horse compared to that of Tala’s appeared before him. “What’s the matter with your rival today?” Oz PMed Fitch, “that time of the month?”

  Fitch smiled “Let it go man, let’s just be on our way”

  Laying down their plan, another day of off the beaten road travel awaited them. They were trying to avoid contact with anyone or anything as much as possible. Up until now, Fitch did not notice any irregularities around the areas they passed. He never did traverse those roads before, but had no one told him of the impending doom on the end of their road, he wouldn’t have known by the looks of it.

  The next hour they galloped full speed on an open plane, avoiding all types of agro. From there they moved to a slow dredge for a safe way between bushes and trees to avoid a camp or a small guild headquarters.

  From inside the tree covers, a large bone yard area loomed to their left. Fitch stopped to take a closer look. Mist covered the ground and large bone structures grew to touch the skies. Large rock formations sliced in half and dead trees all around.

  Oz stood next to Fitch, “What happened here? The Dark One?”

  “Seriously?” Paragon said, Talion just shook his head and continued forward, “That’s the Graveyard of Champions. This was the battlefield between the champions of the races of men and the Beastmen.”

  “The Battle of Heaven and Hell,” Fitch said.

  “Exactly,” Paragon said, “both, accompanied by their army, clashed in The Battle of Heaven and Hell. The champions of men barely survived and defeated the Beastmen. Only barely mind you. Due to their grave injuries and losses in their ranks, they were never to be seen again in this realm. It is said that when the races of men are desperately in need, the champions will return to this world to rain supreme once more.”

  “Cool,” Oz said, “you are a nerd for knowing that though.”

  “Proud to be one,” Paragon said, “After they’ve been defeated, the Beastmen champions lay in eternal slumber in the Dark Realm. Their tribes tried time and again to awaken them once more, but their efforts were not fruitful, yet. Players participated in some missions and events to stop those awakenings. We weren’t around for any one of those events unfortunately, but who knows, this could be one of them.”

  “Move it guys,” Talion said far off ahead, “don't want to waste more time.”

  The next half hour they walked in the same tree line until they came across an open field outside the cover of the trees. In the horizon, Fitch noticed a huge statue erected in the middle of an open field. A dragon.

  “Hell yeah,” Oz said, “That is badass. I’ll go take a picture.”

  “God damn it, no,” Talion said, “this’ll waste time and get us noticed.”

  “Relax man,” Oz said making his way towards the statue, “you are taking this way too seriously. Like someone I know,” he smiled looking at Fitch.

  Talion shook his head in disapproval and redirected his stride following Oz. The others followed suit.

  “I think before this is over they’ll kill Oz,” Paragon PMed Fitch.

  “I guess, but he’s right. I want to check this out as well.”

  They approached the magnificent bulk. Around it, a small rock formation sprouted from the grass growth. The statue stood twelve or so feet above Fitch’s head, on his mount. The thing looked menacing and detailed to a fault. Two huge wings unfolded, claws pulled and teeth bared. This thing was ready to fight.

  “It’s Farghor, elder of the southern dragons,” Tala said, her eyes shifting left and right, “the Beastmen around the area tried to revive him few times. All ended in failure.”

  “Revive him? You mean to tell me this is no statue?” Oz said.

  “Noob,” Talion shook his head.

  “The dragon was actually paralyzed by some heroes about the same time the Battle of Heaven and Hell took place,” Paragon said, “it wasn’t part of the main battle as the heroes found out that taking the dragon kings earlier increased their chances of victory. Thus they initiated operation Dragon Stone before the Battle of Heaven and Hell.”

  “You are a nerd,” Oz said.

  “What can I say, I love the lore.”

  “Anyways, let’s move before anyone-” Tala didn’t manage to finish before a purple-greenish lizard peeked its head behind the statue. “Damn it.”

  “What is that?” Oz said. Fitch checked the creature; level eighty-five scaled lizard.

  Tala dismounted and started casting, “you guys run for it, back to the tree line.”

  “Um, can you say, Fly you fools,” Oz said.

  “Oz,” both Fitch and Paragon said in unison.

  “Ok, ok.”

  They raced towards the cover of the trees. Tala held her staff in one hand and energy rays broke and danced around her. Huge rocks started to sprout from the ground and snapped together to form a big rock golem that jumped to intercept the lizard’s way even before being fully assembled. Tala mounted her Vagrant and started towards the tree line.

  Not looking in front of him, Fitch jerked to a stop and stumbled off his mount.

  “What the hell?” Fitch said. Behind him an orc charged towards him. His mount nowhere to be found.

  The green monster took a swing with his jugged axe. Fitch raised his shield taking in the blow. Focusing his view on the orc, Fitch read the status. Level eighty, warrior. They should be able to handle it, provided no links. He looked left and right. Looks like this was a stray orc. Fitch unsheathed his sword and provoked the beast.

  “We are coming Fitch,” Paragon said.

  “My golem is still fighting, you guys need to handle this alone.” Tala said, “I can only back up heal,” she dismounted and stood few feet behind Fitch.

  Fitch slashed once, twice, then pulled another provoke. Got to keep this thing on him. One provoke came from the other direction and the orc turned around to face Talion.

  “See, see,” Oz PMed Fitch.

  “I know, later man. Take this out first.”

  It didn’t take long for the beast to eat dirt. A system message let them know that the lizard fell few seconds after the orc. The golem trotted back towards Tala. She dismissed it and called her mount. “Mount up guys. And please, keep with the plan. No veering around,” she looked at Oz.

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Before they knew it, they were back on the off-road trail hiding and sneaking away from any living creature, more so from players.

  “So, tell me man. Your rival still wins,” Oz PMed Fitch.

  “I don’t know man. His equipment maybe.” Fitch felt bad the first few times this happened. No matter what, Talion always pulled hate with the first provoke. They were both paladins with the same set of skills and presumably the same level range, but Talion far exceeded Fitch when it came to enmity towards the opponents.

  “I told you, because you suck.”

  “Thank you for the vote of confidence. This is what happens when you fly through levels like we did recently. We lose touch with our jobs man.”

  “Yeah, yeah, blame it on the ring. I was drawn by its power.
”

  “Huh?”

  Oz shook his head, “Of course you wouldn’t get the reference.”

  “Not just that man. Look at his equipment. You don’t give me time to farm.”

  “We’ll have plenty of time to farm later. For now, you suck,” Oz laughed and went on ahead, “Oh, a temple,” he said in the party chat.

  “God damn it Oz.”

  ~

  The next hour brought them on the outset of a rocky plane. A vast open area with a cover of few rocks formation as far as the eyes could see loomed before them. Few small settlements dotted the area.

  “The Ourock plane,” Tala said, “it’s a straight shot from here to the Mythic Mines, but it won’t be easy. We lost the cover of the trees and the Dark One’s army is in no short order here. We’ll pass what we can here today and continue tomorrow afresh.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Paragon said.

  They got on their usual way following Tala as their guide. Few mobs threatened to agro but the guys were quick to navigate around. The rocks provided good cover at times, but also sent them on a small detours at others.

  Another half an hour of easy hiking before they edged towards a huge canyon. The thing stretched both sides as far as the eyes could see. Fitch stepped forward and peered down, nothing but the abyss of darkness and the hum of the gentle winds.

  “Hmmm, we’ll need to reach the crossing somewhere to the east,” Tala said, Fitch followed her gaze east. No crossing on site. “We’ll make our way there and build a camp, it’s getting kind of late and I need to log soon.”

  Nighttime crept where Fitch lived as well, but only eight PM. Still some playtime left in him. Which puts Tala and Talion somewhere around Europe perhaps, or they were really night owls from Asia or the Middle East.

  “What… is that?” Oz said pointing to the far end of the canyon.

  “Shit, get down,” Talion said dismounting and dropping to the ground.

  All the others followed. Fitch got on his knees and peeked in that direction. A sea of black figures poured east. From this distance he could not tell who or what they were, but the first thing that came to his mind was an army march.

  “What the hell are they?” Oz said.

  “The Dark One’s army I believe,” Tala said, unsure if it’s the distance or the setting sun, but Fitch could not make out more than a silhouette of dark figures marching.

  “This does not look good,” Talion said.

  “Change in plan,” Tala said, “we’ll have to descend the canyon and make our way from there.”

  Fitch looked down, “This’ll be a hell of a detour.”

  “Any better ideas?” Talion said, “Because facing those guys is not an option.”

  “What is going on? Where are they headed?” Paragon said.

  “No idea what is in their mind, but obviously they are heading for the crossing. Come,” Tala took careful steps down, “we’ll cover what we can today and setup camp. We can research what’s going on by tomorrow and decide. I rather die down there than face the Dark One.”

  “It seems even our sexy Gandalf is afraid of this guy,” Oz PMed Fitch, “But you got to admit, can’t beat the view.”

  Fitch looked at the dark army slowly making its way, somewhere. What were they planning? And what the hell kind of view Oz meant? He looked at Oz who had his eyes fixed downwards. Fitch followed his gaze and noticed Tala’s glorious chest from up above. He smiled, shook his head and followed.

  14 – Prison break

  One more stab should do it. By now, Bale assumed, the guy alerted his friends through private channels. He should act fast. He tossed the guard and headed for the open cell door. The moment he stepped out he equipped his sword and to his delight it showed up. Thank Altana it worked. The restriction applied only inside the cell; a fact Bale noticed when the guards carried weapons few inches away from his cell.

  For the last few hours Bale noticed the obvious absence in the number of guards. Even Varga’s torturing sessions reduced significantly. Only one guy watched them for the last few hours. No idea what had happened, but Bale learned long time ago that if an opportunity presented itself, that he should seize it.

  He grabbed his sword and with one swing broke the lock off of Varga’s cell. The orc lady grabbed the door and crashed it open. She stepped outside and charged towards the dead guard. She ground her teeth and balled her fists before pummeling the blood out of his corpse.

  “Come on Varga, he’s no more,” Bale said looking around for any sign of movement.

  “I know, I just hope he can see this. Feel this.” she brought her face next to the dead man’s, “I hope you can hear me. I’ll hunt your nightmares.”

  She finally joined Bale and they started to look for a way out. Few more cells and they reached a flight of stairs going down. Remembering his little encounter with the Dark One down the cellars, he knew these must lead the wrong way. He couldn't recall coming across an exit that side.

  Unfortunately, his plan took him this far only. From here on out he had to improvise. After being shot by an arrow and losing consciousness, he woke up few hours later noticing the arrow still pierced in his hand. The restriction on weapons must’ve not applied on ammo. And so he grabbed the arrow and waited.

  He tried few times to lure a guard into his cell to no avail. They didn't even acknowledge his existence at times. One night he discussed his plan with Varga. After all, he might need her to make an escape.

  “So you think you can escape all the soldiers in here with an arrow in hand?” she said.

  “No, I’m certain if I get out of the cell I’ll be able to equip my weapon. If only I could get them to open the door.”

  After a moment of silent Varga unknowingly came up with the best suggestion in her life, “Why don’t you kill yourself? You can just spawn back in your home point.”

  That’s what got Bale thinking. Kill himself. But while he’s at it, why not try to help Varga as well? While Beastmen did respawn at their home point, unlike humans, they only came back as a clone of themselves. Same name and look, but no memory of the past. What if the Dark One needed this particular Varga? So, he decided to pretend like he was dying.

  He stabbed himself few times and got his health dangerously low. He started shouting for the guard for help. At first, and as always the guard paid him no mind. But once he got close and checked Bale, he immediately opened the cell and grabbed a potion. Bale used the potion before commencing with the plan.

  With his energy back, he squeezed the arrow and drove it in the man’s neck. He followed it again, and again. The man screamed and flailed to grab his weapon, forgetting the restriction inside the cell. He screamed his lungs out the first few stabs before blood flooded his throat and nothing came out but desperate gargles. Varga bellowed through it all. She either tried to drown his screams so no one would hear, or was just genuinely happy for this man’s agony. Bale thought the later.

  And so they found themselves on a race against time to find the exit. Sensing some movement he held up a closed fest signaling Varga to stop. Not knowing what he meant she bumped into his back. Their armor clanged and sounds around them exploded. He frowned at her and she shrugged. He realized his fault; he should not have expected her to know their military code and signs.

  Two guards charged towards them. A mage and an archer. Should not be an issue. Before he raised his sword a huge axe flew from behind him plowing the mage to the wall. Varga followed after, grabbing the axe and heading towards the ranger.

  “Take the mage,” she said.

  The mage staggered back to his feet when Bale slashed him with his sword and bashed his face in with the shield. Another swing and he stood no more. Bale turned around to aid with the second man only to find Varga standing on the bloody corpse of the ranger, apparently waiting for Bale.

  “You are slow,” she snorted.

  Few more steps and they found a flight of stairs going up. Varga, straight back and axe first, strutted towa
rds the opening. Bale grabbed her bulge of a hand and spun her around, “careful, we don’t want to be seen.”

  “Listen honey, maybe you don’t want to be seen. I don’t care one bit about them,” she drew closer to his face, “I’ll crush them all.”

  “They might not be an issue,” hissed Bale, “but do remember what got you here in the first place. I’m sure that Dark One destroyed everything you knew.”

  Varga snorted and they continued on their way, Bale trying to avoid any encounter while Varga, if she did, was not at the least bothered from the way she charged head on. For what it’s worth, the place boarder lined abandonment. Another guard tried to stand in their way, Bale did not get the chance to swing his sword before Varga put an end to the man’s life.

  They reached a small opening leading to what looked like a main hall. An iron gate stood shut at the far end. Two large wooden tables stretched parallel across the room. Throughout the room, Bale counted half a dozen dark figures. Unlike the dark one, they had armor pieces on. Weapons as well. Bale placed them as the same figures that raided the outpost. His outpost.

  “Dark army, this should be easy,” Varga said.

  “I’ll take the two on the left, you take the right. We’ll converge on-” Varga charged out before he finished, “-for the love of Altana,” Bale stumbled out and headed opposite her to the other guards who were now ready for him.

  He activated a damage enhance ability and met the first guard’s attack with his shield. He returned the attack, followed by another. The second guard next to him joined in and the two archers on the far end of the hall took position. Time to defend.

  He raised his shield and activated the protect spell taking a slash in the process. He tightened his grip and slashed the guard bringing his to a thread; one more slash should do it.

  The other guard stepped in taking point for his wounded comrade. Damn it. Bale tried to go after the first guard to finish him, but two arrows made sure he stopped on his tracks. Another slash and his HP sled further down. Damn you Varga.