Stealthcaster Read online

  Chapter 16 - Kobold Chaos

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  The tidal wave of kobold warriors sprang from the trees, charging toward them. One of the larger green-skinned creature leaped forward from a large tree, jumping out into mid-air straight toward their group.

  Megyn had to act quickly, stepping back and twisting, lifting her bow and tracking his movements, isolating his 140 hit points, and almost instantly drawing on her Weak Point skill and her evolved Archery skill. It all came together into a singular instant, her fingers releasing, the slender shaft of the arrow springing from the bow string, screaming toward the established weak spot. The arrow slammed home in the creature’s throat, just under its jaw, snapping the kobold’s head back and throwing it to the ground with a dull whump.

  Tyson leaped into action next, charging forward from Megyn’s left, barreling into the group of lizards, knocking them asunder, lunging and latching his jaws into the chest of a screaming kobold warrior. With a single thrash of his massive head, he tossed the lizard over his shoulder, sending him cartwheeling into the air, slamming down into the trees several yards away.

  Ella darted right, her eyes scanning from kobold to kobold, already feeling slightly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of them. There were at least a dozen of the creatures and possibly more like fifteen, though Tyson was already hacking those numbers down somewhat swiftly.

  Spinning her gleaming silver staff, she shifted right, focused her attention, then lurched forward, swinging her weapon like a cudgel. The staff slammed hard into a kobold’s skull, driving him down to the dirt, then thrust out with the dull end of the staff, driving it hard into the chest of a second. A short sword lashed out, digging into her thigh as she moved backwards, slicing off a narrow chunk of HP just before she stumbled back, using her staff to support herself as she moved away.

  “Fall back!” Megyn shouted, leaping forward, three arrows nocked in her bow string. She released, firing all three of them at once, driving all three of them into the approaching horde of small lizard men. Two of the kobolds screeched tiny, frantic screeches, pitching backwards as Megyn swept a sword from her sheath and swung it in a tight arc, dropping another. Tyson followed her lead in a large, lumbering white blur, slamming into another small group of attackers, knocking them aside, then landed on one and dug deep with teeth and claws, thrashing and snarling.

  “There are so many of them!” Ella shouted.

  “Focus on one at a time!” Megyn replied, throwing her leg out and kicking one in the chest. As it fell, another sprang over it, knocking her back and slapping the bow from her hand with a swift sword strike.

  Ella tossed her staff aside and pressed her palms together, letting mana collect between clenched fingers, a bright bloom of green light forming there, emerging through her digits like sunlight passing through thick trees. A group of four kobolds advanced on Megyn, who was still trying to recover, and Ella jumped forward, thrusting her hands out, shooting a trio of spears of green energy from her flesh. The first Acid Arrow slammed into a kobold’s upper chest and face, sending him sprawling, then he fell to the ground, the green energy hissing and spitting as it burned the flesh from his skull. A second spear drove hard into a kobold’s shoulder, knocking him into a clumsy, spinning stumble, his sword flying from his fingers. As the acid melted through his tunic, then bit into the flesh below, he screamed and wailed, falling to the ground, clutching his arm.

  With a streak of green energy, the third Acid Arrow somehow slipped between the squirming forms of the approaching lizards and struck a narrow tree, splashing into sizzling liquid, scattering over another pair of approaching warriors.

  “How’s your health?” Ella asked Megyn as the Ranger started to scramble upright, trying to get to a standing position before the group of kobolds overran her. She wasn’t going to make it.

  “Down… to… a half,” Megyn huffed, crawling away, the sword still clamped in her hand as she tried to use it to pull herself up. Ella drew her arms back, soaked in her mana and funneled a full half of her remaining MP into a rippling pool of blue light. The protective spell Shimmering Sphere began to coalesce at her fingertips, but rather than use it as a shield, she forced the energy outward into a broad, concussive blast, and it slammed into the approaching kobolds, giving Megyn just enough space to finish crawling to her feet to stumble back to where she stood. Tyson reared around and dove head-first into the small group, pinning one to the ground, tearing at him with his jaws.

  Megyn stood, moving her sword to her other hand, then closed her second hand around it, looking toward the shrinking group of kobold attackers. There were only around six left, but they were moving around Tyson and charging toward them at a fast clip.

  “So you’re low on HP, I’m almost out of MP, and we’re still outnumbered six to two.” Ella looked at Megyn, who met her gaze. They both shrugged. “Just another day at the office.”

  The moment the words were uttered, a spear hurled from the group, arcing gently, then screaming down toward them. Ella broke right and Megyn broke left, but not fast enough. A metal, broadhead blade bolted to the end of the shaft punched through her right side, sending off explosive warnings in bright red letters cascading through her HUD warning of critically low HP. She struck the ground hard on her right side, rolling over protectively, curling into a semi-fetal position, the spear bobbing from her muscle.

  “Megyn!” screamed Ella, whirling toward her.

  Megyn looked up at her.

  Warning! hit points at Critical Level.

  HP: 28/250

  You are bleeding!

  -2 HP per ten seconds for one minute

  STR: -2

  DEX: -2

  “Okay,” she mumbled. “I’m… okay.” Kobold warriors converged on her, lifting swords, the first two of them at the lead of the group smiling wickedly. Ella glanced at her MP and saw that over half of her MP reserves had regenerated in a few moments since she’d cast a spell. Hastily, she gathered in extraneous mana, forming an ice-blue ball of energy in her hand, holding it there for a moment and letting the power build. Two kobolds loomed over Megyn, preparing for a final strike as the Ranger reached behind her, trying to pull the spear free from her ribs.

  Ella’s hand shot out, an Ice Dagger forming in midair, then buzzing forward, slamming hard into one of the kobolds’ chests, knocking him back. Moving her fingers, three other slimmer daggers formed in her hand, pinched between her digits, and she swung her arm up and around, unleashing all three of them toward the approaching group. Another kobold shouted, losing a quarter of his HP as he stumbled away, the others chattering and growling as they dispersed.

  Her MP completely expended, Ella slumped down onto her knees, reaching over and clutching her staff, pulling it close to her, her head swimming with the sudden output of mana energy. Slowly, she saw the blue bar begin to refill, but far too sluggishly as the three remaining lizards turned toward her, retaining their wicked smiles, long, scale-covered fingers drumming on the pummels of their weapons.

  “Human blood,” one of the kobolds sneered. “A delicacy.”

  “Never had it,” another one hissed.

  “Ohhh, you will love it.”

  The three of them took a step closer, then halted when the low, guttural growl stopped them in their tracks. None of them wanted to turn, each of them continued looking forward, not wanting to face the reality of what might be making that growling sound just behind them. They knew what it was, but hoped that if they didn’t see it, it wouldn’t be real.

  No such luck.

  Tyson howled and leaped, landing on the center lizard, sinking teeth into his collarbone, rending flesh from muscle. The other two screamed and peeled away, then turned and sprinted off into the trees, their voices echoing and fading into the branches as they took off in desperation, leaving their dropped swords where they lay.

  Finishing his dirty work, Tyson turned to Megyn, his snout and muzzle coated with a pale green stain of lizard blood, and he whined softly,
taking a step toward her.

  Megyn slowly, painfully, started to climb to her feet, groaning a bit, using Tyson as leverage to help her stand.

  “You okay?” Ella asked, coming to her side.

  Megyn nodded softly. “I… don’t suppose… you have a healing spell in your… back pocket, do you?” She said between hard gasps of breath.

  Ella shook her head, suddenly feeling very stupid. She was a Druid and Druids were supposed to be able to heal, but she’d focused all of her attention on offensive spells instead of curative spells, and now, here she was, in the middle of enemy territory with a party member near death and absolutely no way to make her well.

  “I’ve been funneling my attention into offense,” she said sheepishly. “Locratia offered me a chance to coach on healing, but… but I turned her down,” she whispered, as if not wanting to reveal some hidden truth.

  “Not your fault,” said Megyn.

  “Yes it is!” Ella shouted, helping Megyn to her feet. “I’m the only magic user in our party. I should be focused on things other than offensive spells. Especially as a druid. I am meant to be one with nature… I should be using that energy to restore health as well as cause damage.”

  “Beat yourself up later,” Megyn said softly. “Just help me up on Tyson… we need… we need to get back. Tell Soracia we failed the quest.”

  Ella helped Megyn clamor up onto Tyson’s back, where she slumped over the saddle, hanging onto his silvery fur. The wolf glanced up at her and whined softly again, but plodded forward, heading back the way they came.

  “Wait,” Ella whispered, holding a hand to Tyson’s side. “Did we fail the quest?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Ella was fishing inside her cloak, and pulled out the curled scroll they’d picked up from the ground as they entered the tree line, swallowed by the encroaching forest. As she walked alongside Tyson, she unfurled the scroll and looked down upon it.

  You have Received:

  Map of Gallowind Wood

  Ella’s eyes widened and her mouth parted in near shock at what she was looking at.

  “What is it?” Megyn asked, pushing herself up slightly to talk to her.

  “It’s a map,” Ella replied. “A map of the entirely of Gallowind Wood. It includes the Devil’s Mouth Caverns, the Greenmurk Swamps, the river, even that city up north — Elderand. It’s all here.”

  “That,” Megyn said softly, “could be valuable.”

  Ella turned it to her friend could see it. Everything was drawn in intricate detail, from the tightly group trees of the thick forest, to the Tomb of the Stone King, the Grove toward the northwest, and many other locations they had never even heard of. Thorathon Village had a spot near the south as well. Looking closely, Ella could see what appeared to be several dotted and dashed lines curling their way through the trees in strangely organized patterns and pathways.

  “What do you suppose this means?” Ella asked, tracing her finger along a gently sloping blue line as it wove within the thicker forest and headed out toward the Forked Tongue River.

  Megyn’s eyes widened as she looked at it, a certain realization seeming to settle over her. She leaned over gingerly, drawing in a difficult breath as she did, and pointed to where the blue line intersected with the river.

  “Isn’t that where Lionel’s ship was ambushed?”

  Ella looked closer, nodding. “Yeah. I think you’re right.”

  Megyn glanced back over her shoulder. “Do you think the kobolds were working with the Sharak-Ku? Do you think these lines are all attack patterns?”

  “You know,” Ella replied, “I think you might be on to something there.”

  “Hop up on Tyson’s back,” Megyn said nodding back to the saddle underneath her. “We need to get back to Thorathon Village. Quickly. If those are attack patterns, it means the Sharak-Ku are preparing for something. Something big.”

  Chapter 17 - The Wreckage of Draeslamere

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  Solomon was aching for some action, but the forests sat annoyingly empty northwest of Thorathon.

  “Seriously,” he griped, looking over at Lionel and Woody. “We can’t even get a goblin in these parts? I needs me some XP!”

  “Are you asking for enemies to fight, friend Solomon?” Woody inquired with a tilt of his head. “You do still remain at level five, yes?”

  “Yes, yes, I’m at level five,” Solomon replied. “But I’ll never get to level six if I don’t find some monsters to stabby stabby!” He thrust with his axe, then twirled it fancifully around in a figure eight motion.

  “I would have thought you’d learned your lesson about overconfidence,” Woody replied, a tone of uncharacteristic snark in his voice.

  “Was that a dead joke?” Solomon asked. “Did you just joke about the fact that I died? Woody, I’m shocked and appalled!”

  “You died?” Lionel asked, turning to Solomon, his eyes wide. “What happened? Where did you go?”

  Solomon shrugged as if it were no big deal, even though he’d been struggling mightily to get back where he’d been before ever since he’d been impaled by the tail of the evil pit fiend G’Lorath.

  “Respawn,” he said nonchalantly. “Kicked back where I started from.” His eyes darted to Woody for a moment, trying to gauge how much the NPC understood what he was saying. “Lost all of the XP points I’d built up along the way, but I kept my level.”

  “Yikes,” Lionel replied.

  “Yeah, it kinda sucked, but I was only level four, so it wasn’t crippling. Hate to think what would happen at level ten or twenty. Hope I never find out.”

  “So that’s what probably happened to my brothers,” Lionel said. “They’re back at Elderond right now, most likely.”

  “Probably,” Sol replied. “But remember, I was part of the first beta. Who knows if they’ve changed anything since then.”

  “Hopefully they did not,” Lionel replied. “My brothers were only level two at the most. They’ll probably have recovered all of their XP and then some by the time I get back to them.”

  The three of them continued on through the trees, navigating the forest with an expertise Solomon wasn’t entirely happy with. Growing up in the industrial nation that America had become, he had very little experience with nature, and so far, no matter how beautiful it appeared, he still wasn’t much of a fan. There were too many things that could hide in those dark corners between leaves and behind branches. Dirt and water and all sorts of gross stuff out there, waiting for him to step in it, sit in it, or lie in it.

  “Ick, I hope we get back to Thorathon before nightfall,” he whispered.

  “This land is gorgeous,” Lionel said with a smile and Woody smiled along with him.

  “Clearly you do not appreciate the beauty of the outside world, Solomon. There is much to appreciate here.”

  “Eh, I’m all set,” Sol replied. “Give me a roof and a mattress,”

  “And that book?” Woody asked.

  Sol’s cheeks flushed. Sure, Megyn and Ella had given him all manner of crap for his relentless studying of the Journal of Kremjak, but how did Woody know about that?

  “Who told you about the book?” he asked.

  “Did someone have to tell me? Perhaps I am just… observant?”

  “I don’t think anyone’s that observant,” Solomon replied.

  “Let me just say that for all of your worry and concern about building XP, it was surprising just how much time you spent alone in your cottage reading that book.”

  “Oye not this again,” Solomon laughed, rolling his eyes.

  “Tell me about the book,” Lionel interjected.

  Solomon sighed a long, exasperated sigh.

  “We had a quest when we first arrived. A quest to expunge the evil forces that infected these woods,” he gestured around him, indicating the thick trees they were surrounded by. “Part of that meant clearing a dungeon. Well, a tomb really. After we cleared the tomb, we found a journal. A magic book. Well, I found
it, really.”

  “And it was written by this Kremjak?” Lionel asked.

  Solomon nodded. “Apparently. He was a well known Rogue and magic user who supposedly developed his own unique brand of sonic magic.”

  “Sonic magic?”

  “Yeah. This technique he used, it draws mana from the magical energies within all living things, running in ley lines beneath the surface of the ground, and somehow entangles that mana energy with sound waves. Combines them into a singular source of power and uses them as magic.”

  “That is… crazy,” Lionel replied. “How is it even possible?”

  “Haven’t gotten that far yet,” Solomon replied. “It took me a while to figure out the language. Yesterday I unlocked the StealthCaster class, which opened up the skill tree. Give me a little more time, and I’ll figure it out.” He winked to the other two with a knowing nod.

  “I did not know any of this,” Woody replied.

  “I’m a very private person, Woodland,” Solomon replied.

  “You are ridiculous,” Woody said.

  Sol laughed at this and tossed his axe in the air, watching the heavy head spin it in an awkward tumble. Trying to judge the spin, he went to catch it, but the handle bounced off his arm and thumped into the grass.

  “Oops.”

  “That’s a level one axe throw if I ever saw it,” Woody quipped.

  “Excuse me,” Solomon insisted, “level two, thank you very much.”

  For a few moments they continued walking and not talking, making their way through the continued progression of trees and plants, hearing little and seeing less, a steady migration north from Thorathon.

  “You’re sure this is the route your friends would have taken?” Solomon asked, looking at Woody, who was already nodding before he even finished his question.

  “Absolutely. I know my clan well. This would be the path they took.”

  “I feel like I’ve spent my whole time here walking through these woods,” Solomon said, “yet I still feel like I haven’t seen everything.”