Necromancers, Demons & Kings Read online

  Bishop spent the next hour crafting new staves for those who needed them in the guild. He destroyed two, but managed to keep hold on his anger and started over, ending with flawless results. He never imagined crafting in a game would be so intense. When the weapons were completed, at least on his end, Calista took a break from forging to join him at the clothier table to work on light and medium gear.

  “Now, armor is a little more complicated than the weapons,” Calista explained.

  “How much more complicated?” Bishop asked as all his good feelings of accomplishment vanished. “It’s harder than making weapons?”

  “Yes, on several levels.” She patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll walk you through it.”

  He watched intently as she opened her bags and removed medium leathers already formed from medium hides gathered across Samar. He expected that to be it, but his jaw dropped and he whispered curses as she put down thread, some type of fibrous looking material, and another bottle of oil he hadn’t seen yet.

  “All of this for one piece of gear?” he asked.

  “Wait until you start using hellhound hides,” she remarked. “From what I can tell so far, they have a seventy percent fail chance to get something useful.”

  “Then why even try?”

  “Because the stats with that kind of hide are incredible.”

  Bishop held up the fibrous material and played with it between his fingers. “What is this?”

  “That is found in the wilds around Hillside,” she explained and plucked it out of his hands with a smirk. “It’s hard to find and expensive on the Auction House. They call it Sheran here. It reinforces the hide and helps pull the other elements together.”

  “Uh huh,” he murmured.

  She laid out the large piece of leather and stretched a long piece of thread around the entire piece, her fingers working quickly as Bishop watched amazed at how easily she worked. Setting the thread aside, she picked up the Sheran and laid a piece at each edge of the leather. Lastly, she picked up the oil and pulled out the stopper.

  “Here, take a whiff.”

  He lowered his nose to the top of the bottle and breathed deep. A second later, he was hunched over, gagging and coughing, as Calista cackled. “What… the hell is that abomination?” he gasped, rubbing his face and shaking his head as if that would clear the horrendous stench from his nostrils.

  “That would be essence of a bear stomach,” she said, clapping him on the back. “Horrible smell, but damned if it doesn’t make the gear hold up ten times greater.”

  “How did you figure that out?”

  “Experimenting. They have a basic guide for what certain items will do, but it’s the rare ones they let you figure out for yourself.” She spilled a few drops of the foul smelling oil onto the leather and spread it around with her fingers.

  “Please tell me you’ll wash your hands off before you touch anything else?” he said, cringing.

  “Nah, I thought I’d wipe them all over your pretty little face.” She put the stopper back in the bottle and wiped her hands on her heavy duty leather apron she used for crafting. “Now that everything is together, you just take your needle in hand and like magic,” she said, touching the needle to each edge of the leather, “you have gear.”

  The leather with all the ingredients on it was consumed in a fierce blue glow and, when it cleared, Bishop stared at a completed leather jerkin, blackened in color, and covered with amazing stitched detailing. He ran his fingers over the seams and held it up, shaking out the piece. Calista frowned and took it from his hands to hold it up to his chest.

  “Not too shabby. The stats are definitely better than what you’ve got on now.” She handed it over. “Equip it and check it out.”

  He quickly did so and admired the beauty of the piece as well as the boost to his armor the piece gave him. “Is this part of a set?’ he mused, noticing the name of the item. “White Wolf Stalker Set. Does it have a full set?”

  “It does, and with each piece you wear from that set, your stats will increase. This set will give you added agility and health,” she said, hands planted on her hips. “Lucky for you, I know the entire set. Found the missing pattern a few days ago. I can share them with you and you can make the rest of it. Sound good?”

  “Are you sure all you want in return for all of this is a shop?” he asked, worried they were asking far too much of one player. “This has got to cost a lot.”

  “Eh. Most of these items I harvested myself and I do all the bounties daily to make up the gold I need to buy everything else. Honestly, the shop is what I need to boost my revenue stream. Besides, with your guild and the others walking around in my stuff, you’re like free walking billboards for Calista’s goods and weapons.”

  “I guess you have a point there,” he agreed. “You think I can make the rest of this?”

  “If I didn’t think you could, I wouldn’t leave you alone with it. And now, whenever you guys run into the issue of needing new gear, you’ll know how to do it yourselves. I’ll teach the forgers whenever they get back from gathering ore,” she said, tapping her chin in thought. “And you should be a good enough teacher to pass on the lessons for woodworking and clothing.”

  “You put way too much faith in my teaching abilities.”

  Her brow rose. “Do I now? Who was it that managed to bring together two guilds and lead them through two dungeons on the first try? And who currently has the guild with the highest stats in the game?”

  “That’s not really teaching,” he argued, shuffling his feet as his cheeks burned. “That’s, well, I’m not sure what that is.”

  “Yes it is. You’re guiding them all, helping them figure out their strengths in this game.” She reached out and squeezed his hand, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek. “You’re going to have to figure it out anyway. Crafting is going to be a huge part of the later game, I can feel it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Fighting all these Demon Lords? And then the Demon Queen? You’re going to need some heavy duty protection to get past her in one piece.”

  Bishop swallowed hard. You have no idea. He rubbed his throat, suddenly fearing that Valenastrious was going to appear out of nowhere. The thing was, he had not encountered Valen over the last few days. And he began to hope that maybe all those other times had been glitches in the system and they were now fixed. If he could make it through this game without seeing the Demon Queen until the very end, he’d be quite thrilled. Did he tell Calista about his experiences with her so far, or Tavin? He hadn’t even asked her what she was comfortable doing in a guild as far as fighting. From her build, he assumed she was a DPS, but the gear he could observe on her was heavy.

  “When we do the dungeon again, you’re going to be by our sides, right?” he asked.

  She beamed. “I thought you’d never ask, but I wasn’t sure if you needed another tank. I’m not a prot tank, though, and I can deal a hefty amount of damage.”

  “Tank. I should have known,” he said, and he rolled his eyes to tease her. She smacked his arm playfully. “What’s your weapon of choice? Two hand, or do you get a little crazy with the war hammer like Arthur?”

  “You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?” She winked and Bishop’s attraction to this woman grew tenfold in a shot. Stay focused. You are not here just to flirt. You’re here to add a valuable player to your guild and to learn, so learn! “Let’s get back to work if we hope to finish most of this today. I’m sure you’re anxious to get back in there and finish the dungeon.”

  “Oh you have no idea. My guild doesn’t like to lose.”

  “Great, we have that in common then,” she said, and she set to work pounding on her anvil, the heavy swing of her hammer giving rise to Bishop’s curiosity about what type of weapon she would fight with.

  ***

  Bishop guided Calista forward, keeping his hands over her eyes, the rest of his guild and the LongBeards behind her. Almost everyone was decked out in
all their new gear. A few needed a minor piece or two, but they would have to wait until morning.

  “Ready?” Bishop asked, as they came to a stop outside the shop front of Calista’s new store.

  “Yes!” she exclaimed, bouncing on her feet. “Come on, this is torture.”

  “Alright. And you can thank Maverick and Zoe if you hate it, since they picked it out.”

  Both women frowned, and Bishop pulled his hands away. Calista gasped and clapped her hands together. “This is mine? Really?” she whispered.

  “All yours, bought and paid for,” Bishop informed her, and he handed over the key to the front door. “Courtesy of your new guild and the assistance of the LongBeards, also patrons of your new place and of your goods.” He dropped the heavy key in her palm.

  She darted inside with a squeal. He waited outside, giving her a few moments to look around. “There’s a forge out back!” she yelled. “And a clothier table… and a damn woodworking station! And this storage, there’s five chests back here! You’re kidding me, right? I don’t even have to go to the hall to craft?”

  Maverick sauntered to Bishop. “I think you owe me one,” she told him.

  “I owe you more than one. You used most of my funds, right?”

  “Yeah, only had to pull a little from our guild funds and what the LongBeards gave us helped pay for the rest.” She tapped her newly made spear against the cobblestones and sparks erupted from the contact of the dark iron. “She definitely knows how to craft some damn fine weapons.”

  “Yes she does. Now let’s see how she fights.”

  Calista rushed back out the front door and nearly tackled Bishop off his feet as she leapt into his arms, kissing his cheek as she hugged him. “Thank you! All of you! You have no idea how awesome this is going to be! It’s like home now, really.”

  As Bishop set her back on her feet, her words resonated somewhere deep within him. Home. He had not pushed much when they spoke last night, asking about her past beyond what she offered up with the anger management and her ex-husband. From the grateful tears in her eyes though, it was quite clear life had kicked her down a few times to the point she wasn’t sure if she’d get up again. Now she had a store and she had a family in her new guild.

  “Okay everyone, tonight we get a good night sleep and talk strategy because, tomorrow morning, we’ll finish up our gear. And after lunch,” he said taking a deep breath, “after lunch we kill Helenex.”

  Jimmy sagged, muttering curses, but Bishop was hopeful that they could do it. They would do it. There was no failing a third time.

  Chapter 09

  The dark, intimidating doors leading to the Harbor stood before the two guilds like guards at the entrance to the underworld, warning them to stay away. Bishop gripped his newly made bow and let the comfort of his new family behind him soothe his nerves until his hands stopped quaking. Willy nudged his leg and growled quietly at his side.

  “Ready?” Trajan asked, even his usual loud bellowing voice curtailed in the face of what obliterated them all twice already.

  “Let’s kill that swine,” Bishop grunted.

  Trajan pushed open the doors and they stared into the swirling portal they had entered before. The tanks led the way, Calista amongst them, followed by their DPS and the healers bringing up the rear. The entire night when they logged out and at lunch, all they did was strategize about how to make it through this dungeon without everyone dying, again. Jimmy promised not to pull any crazy stunts, but his friend goofing off was the least of Bishop’s worries. This dungeon was complicated and had so many integral parts to take into account. If they messed up one small move, they would ruin the entire thing and have to start all over. They could not reach the temple and perform their ritual until all the others were disrupted, essentially meaning they were stuck on the first part of the fight. Their new equipment was good, but lingering doubts clung to his mind that it would all be ruined by the end of today.

  The group gathered on the platform. Bishop checked his stance to be sure he was in endurance mode and nodded to Trajan.

  “Same plan as before,” he announced. “You aim for the necromancer with the staff. Stop him from summoning the horde of undead. If we make it through this first mob, we’ll move around the harbor in a counter clockwise direction until we reach the temple. Hopefully, all the rituals we need to disrupt are the same as they were before.”

  “Once we’re there, we break off into the groups decided earlier, if we think we can handle it,” Bishop continued. “If not and the mobs are too much, then we go back to the original plan.”

  “DPS, remember who you’re getting your cues from. Healers and tanks, the same goes for you. Call out when you’re low on anything or if you need a heal,” Trajan said. “This is a tough one guys, but we are not going to die today.” He thrust his fist inwards and the rest followed suit. “We fight as one and we win as one, and we don’t pull any Leroys today,” he added.

  Jimmy smiled wide as Bishop and the others laughed. They withdrew their hands and turned to the right side of the platform. Bishop motioned for everyone to use the wards to prevent the sirens from calling to him, and the same glowing runes sank into Bishop’s gear as the protection surrounded him. Calista squeezed his hand reassuringly and hurried to stand beside Trajan. Her heavy armor looked so much lighter than it really was, fitting her body perfectly. She looked like a killer, especially with that helm of hers. It covered her face with a chainmail veil so only her eyes were visible. If he had no idea who was beneath that protection, he would be slightly worried she would try and off him.

  “Ready to see your girl fight?” Jimmy asked.

  “She’s not my girl. We went on one date,” he pointed out.

  “And? She’s kissed you like five times that I’ve seen. She’s your girl.”

  Bishop failed to think of a reply and crouched beside Willy instead. “Stay with the healers, alright, boy? We need them alive.”

  Willy licked his face and fell back in the line to stand beside Benji and the healers.

  Trajan kept low and his axe at the ready, walking down the steps towards the harbor. Maverick shifted into beast form, and Calista unsheathed one mace and one ax.

  Dual wielding. Bishop expected nothing less than for her to be able to control such intricate fighting techniques. He only knew of a handful of other players that used two blades, but she didn’t even use swords. She used much fiercer weapons in his opinion. She had not gone the path of the Righteous Protector, but rather Enlightened Guardian. Her abilities dealt more with light and holy damage than the other and, according to Maverick, took the ability to have a ton of rage built up to use effectively. She was also more efficient at dealing DPS while taking damage. In short, a good balance between tank and damage dealer.

  Bishop’s fingers tensed on the string of his bow as the first mob group came into view. The moment Trajan and Maverick pulled, he was to mark the necromancer who would summon the undead so they could kill him first. There were only six that needed to be killed here if they could keep the undead from coming in droves. Bishop zeroed in on the necromancer with the staff, pacing around the cauldron in the center of the ritual circle formed by the five priests. He ran through the order of his attacks in his mind, knowing Zoe and Giles would solely be targeting the necromancer while the other DPS helped the tanks with the priests and disrupting the ritual.

  Increased Swift Bow first, then Penetrating Shot to bust up his armor. Silent Arrow when he starts to summon, follow it with Fiery Arrow until the bastard’s dead, he repeated over and over in his mind.

  Trajan lifted his axe high and let out his war cry, empowering his attacks as he Heroic Leaped into the center of the ritual. Maverick roared and charged straight for the necromancer, pulling aggro on him and the rest as she slammed her massive paws to the ground, sending a pulsing shockwave through the stones beneath their feet.

  Bishop focused solely on the necromancer and marked him immediately with a glowing orb over his head
. “Kill him first! Interrupt the summons!”

  The necromancer lifted his staff the second Bishop placed the mark, whipping around to face the attack with a mad grin. When it neared the ground, Bishop changed up his plan and sent Silent Arrow soaring through the air. The hit struck him in the chest, and the necromancer’s cast bar flashed empty as his hands shook around his staff. Bishop followed up with Stunning Blow, to give his mates a few more seconds of attack. A feminine war cry reached his ears and he looked up in time to see Calista unleash all hell on the priests. Her moves were fueled solely by rage, and she had plenty of it. Each roar increased her rage and she moved her ax and mace like they were extensions of her arms, dealing damage to each target, swiftly and quickly diminishing their HP with the help of the DPS and the other tanks following her lead.

  “Bishop!” Jimmy hollered. “Stop checking out your girlfriend!”

  He glowered at Jimmy, but turned his attention back to the necromancer down to three fourths health. Starting at the beginning of his rotation—so his hits had a chance to cool down—, he struck with Increased Swift Bow, followed by Penetrating Shot. When the necromancer raised his staff again, Shamus was there with an interrupt, spinning the necromancer around on his feet and throwing him off balance a second time.

  “Hit him hard!” Bishop called out, switching to Fiery Arrow, and using his Instant Shot in between the few seconds of cool down.

  The necromancer’s health steadily decreased. A brilliant beam of white light struck him and Bishop nodded in approval of Jimmy’s Holy Light attack. He followed it up with a Life Absorb attack, and a stream of red seeped from the necromancer’s body and launched itself into Jimmy’s hands.

  “Now! He’s stuck while I’m doing this!” Jimmy yelled.

  Bishop drew back and sent a Fiery Arrow soaring through the air as Giles’ and Zoe’s attacks joined his. The necromancer sank to his knees with a high-pitched shriek and collapsed as the last of his health drained away. The moment he was dead, they turned their attention to the remaining priests. Bishop switched to his AOE attack of Rain of Thorns and whistled for Willy to unleash his brand of furry hell. The white wolf launched itself into the fray, all teeth and claws, latching himself onto the nearest priest clinging to life.