Otherlife Dreams: The Selfless Hero Trilogy Page 8

  Staring at the back door everyone stood dumbstruck as the door closed and the clank of a bar falling in place was heard. Mr. Personality was gone.

  “Fuck me, we just got trained. That pack of greenies are going to path right through here as they follow his trail.”

  Chapter 5 - Sword and Board -

  07:58am Sovereign Earth time

  09/06/43

  “Right. You,” Runner said, pointing to the Sorceress. She’d just finished off the second piece of pork like a hungry wolf before everything went to hell.

  “Thana, Thana Damalis,” she responded to the question.

  “Thana? Like Thanatos? As in death? Cute. Lady Death then, got any spells that are a wall type? Preferably Earth or Ice? We’ve only got a little bit before those Orcs arrive and we need that entryway sealed.”

  Runner gestured over his shoulder to accentuate his point.

  “I’m unsure, I’ll inspect the area and ascertain what I can do,” she reported. Her voice was serene and measured, bordering on musical.

  Nodding, Runner cast her from his mind and locked eyes with Hannah.

  “Get on that door and see what you can do, he locked it on his way out. Keep in mind it might not be worth the trouble. If you can block it firmly from our side, it’ll keep them from flanking us as much as it’ll keep us from getting out.”

  “Got it. On my way,” Hannah acknowledged.

  Hannah moved off to carry out his orders. Crackling Ice came into being, demanding his attention to the entryway. It was a solid cloudy wall that stretched the width of the entry.

  Runner really couldn’t gauge the thickness from here, but he could only assume it’d buy them a few minutes. The Ice began groaning ominously under it’s own weight. Eying the wall as it creaked he mentally willed it to remain solid. He needed this, needed this badly. Finally it settled itself and became quiet. Thana made her way back to him with a pleased look.

  “Good work Lady Death, remind to never underestimate you in a critical situation. Next, next, next. Kitten, Lady, come stand in front of me please.”

  Thana complied immediately though Katarina stared at him. Before it could become a standoff she did as instructed, breaking the eye contact with him. Thanking whatever AI decided it would be good for her to obey he moved to stand behind Katarina.

  Placing his hands on Katarina’s hips he opened up the console with a thought. A single breath later he had completed and approved the party invite to Katarina.

  “Ok. Hold up your hand,” Runner commanded. Once she held up her hand he wrapped his around it and held it. “Now, in your mind, focus on the words, ‘Yes, join the party’. When you feel like your will could crumble mountains under the sheer force of it, move your hand forward two inches. No more, no less. Ok?”

  “Mmm.”

  Taking her non-verbal response for acquiescence he waited patiently. Within a heartbeat of his instruction Katarina’s hand shot forward. Runner received the party acceptance notification, elation filling him. Nodding to himself he released her hand while patting her hip.

  “Good show, that was quick. Some impressive mental fortitude. Ok, my Lady, your turn.”

  Moving to stand behind Thana, who had been watching him the whole time, he smiled at her.

  “Eyes forward little miss. Ok. Same thing. Hand up please,” Runner insisted, resting his hands on her hips.

  Thana hesitated and then raised her right hand. Runner placed his hand over hers and leaned forward, then down, then forward again. Her diminutive height made it harder to judge the right placement for her fingers. Finally he felt fairly sure he had her hand in the right spot.

  “Same instructions for you. ‘Yes, join the party.’, two inches, no more, no less.”

  Silence dominated the area as Thana stood there, her hand held in the air. Trying to remain patient was a difficult thing for Runner, his mind tended to run into strange thoughts when he wasn’t keeping it busy.

  Thana’s cool hand hung motionless in the air, his own hand keeping it steady. Swinging his head over to look at Katarina he paused midway. Without even straining his eyes Runner could see a vein at the side of Thana’s neck pounding away.

  Frowning he stared at her neck, wondering why the game had decided to add such a minor detail. It was more than likely that it would be overlooked by ninety-nine percent of the player base. Watching it beat rapidly anyone could see she had an elevated heart rate. Why would an NPC even display such a characteristic in such a way? Let alone have a heart rate to begin with now that he put a thought to it.

  Letting go of her hip with his left hand he brushed a finger tip over the pulsing skin and then pressed his finger into it. Feeling it throb under his fingertip he was more than a little surprised. In that touch he was able to confirm her heart rate was indeed racing and that she had a heartbeat. Such a strange thing for an NPC. She’s little more than the most basic layer of coding for a game this size, yet this was put in.

  Without warning Thana’s hand shot forward. Before he could even confirm the party invitation was accepted she was walking away from him. Glancing to Katarina who was just watching him, he shrugged, then checked the party window. Sure enough, Katarina Saden and Thana Damalis had joined the party. More surnames, such a strange thing. I’ll need to check their status later. I bet they’ll have flags as well.

  Taking a moment to confirm their levels Runner was pleasantly surprised. Katarina was sitting at level nineteen and Thana at twenty-two. In this situation that was an immeasurable blessing.

  Thana had turned and was now glowering at him from under her dark brows, her hands clenched into a fists at either side. Ignoring her Runner continued on with the plan.

  “Now that you’re in the party, that’ll make it easier to target you later. Ok, nex-” Runner started, and then stopped as he heard crunching noises from up near the ice block. “Ah, our party guests have arrived. We aren’t ready to receive them yet. No refreshments, the band isn’t here, and the waiters haven’t even prepared the glasses. We must freshen up a bit first,” Runner lamented sadly. Making his way over to the cages, and their tightly packed contents, he opened the closest one. Rummaging a bit through the pile of clothes he began sorting out various pieces he could use.

  “I don’t think they’d store weapons of any sort in the place where they’re holding prisoners. Unless the writers of the game treated this like a horrible fanfic or really dodgy writing. That leaves what I’ve got on me, as far as weapons go at least. Let’s see then.”

  Throwing open his inventory window he flipped through it rapidly. He had kept one type of each weapon but had sold all the extra armor. A regret to be sure, but how could have known he’d be supplying others with gear. Pulling out a shield from his inventory and then his own long sword from his character panel he set them on the ground. These two items were followed by a small oak wand and a focusing crystal sphere.

  Sparing the time to bolster their strength, he placed Fireblast on both the wand and sphere. His limited repertoire of spells were narrow in scope and stuck primarily enhancing the most basic of things. It’d just have to do, after all, there was nothing else.

  “Okie dokie, take these. They’re pretty much garbage equipment but should be a decent focus until we can outfit you better,” Runner apologized. Handing over the focusing sphere and the wand to Thana he turned to Katarina, picking up the long sword and shield. With a brush of a finger he enchanted the shield with Stoneskin and walked over to her.

  “Kitten, this is my sword and shield. Take them,” Runner requested. Passing the items to her he looked between the two of them. “This next bit is for both of you. Focus on the items, put the word ‘Equip’ and nothing else in your mind. Eventually they’ll pop, shift, or just appear in your hand. They’ll fit better than you even thought they could. That sword might even get a bit bigger in it’s reach, Kitten. Next.”

  Leaving them to the task of equipping the weaponry he went back to the cage and started going through the ot
her crates and barrels, sorting them into his existing piles. Grumbling to himself he dismissed nearly everything that he came across. Perhaps a minute passed before he found a set of workable clothes with a bare amount of armor and a set of Light Leather. He walked back to his new party members while organizing his haul into three.

  “Lady, take these. Same thing, just hold in your hand with ‘Equip’ in your head.”

  Handing over the stack of lightly armored clothes he turned to Katarina.

  “There’s a slight problem Kitten. No armor in there that actually would be useful in a stand up fight. I’m going to give you mine. Don’t worry about the size, it’ll adjust on it’s own and fit you just fine. Oh, my sword has a fire enchantment. If things catch fire, don’t be startled. Kay? Kay.”

  Katarina nodded to him and watched him wordlessly. Her lack of a response after having been so confrontational was disconcerting. For the moment he was grateful that he didn’t have to solve it immediately. Running his hands over himself he updated all the spells to be a mix between Constitution and Strength. Noticing halfway through that the timers had increased to an hour.

  Must have leveled that up again. Neat. Hopefully it doesn’t cost as much to cast either.

  Equipping the set of light armor he went through the Enchant process again. Having leveled up the cost of each cast was indeed less for which he was thankful for.

  With fewer casts and a longer timer they could be ready faster. Ice could only take so much abuse before completely falling apart. Even one made through magic and conjured up as a solid block.

  Runner held out his sturdy Heavy Leather to Katarina. Sheathing her sword she then clipped the shield into the harness clip on her back. She took the proffered armor from him. Patting her shoulder Runner indicated the armor.

  “Just like last time, ‘Equip’.”

  Diving through his inventory Runner pulled out a short sword and a dagger. Giving both a quick Fireblast enchant he equipped them. Looking to Katarina he watched as her peasant clothes disappeared and the snug leather armor replaced it.

  Feeling run down and with a touch of vertigo, Runner closed his eyes. Allowing himself himself a deep breath and a quiet moment he fought against the dizziness. It was a feeling he’d long ago associated with looking over steep heights. Letting the air out of his lungs he took another deep cleansing breath. Cracking open an eye he retrieved his canteen. Unscrewing it he exhaled and took a drink. Cool water filled his mouth and charged down his throat, chasing the nausea away. Finally it felt like his head wasn’t going to go spinning off.

  Opening his eyes fully, he gave Katarina the once over he couldn’t help but be impressed.

  “Lord knows I love a woman who looks dressed and ready to kill,” Runner said, giving Katarina a broad smile.

  “Do you have anything bigger? A great sword? An axe?” she asked him, sounding unsure.

  “I do, but Kitten, I need you to tone down that blood lust. I don’t need a crazed barbarian to wildly swing themselves through the fray. That wouldn’t serve my goals, my needs. I need you as you are right now. I need you as my sword and shield. I need you to use your head, put yourself where your needed, and keep them busy. I need you to use that Barbarian gift in accordance with your intelligence. You can do that, and do it well. Lady Death and I can start lowering their numbers as you work. Please.”

  Marginally she nodded her head and said nothing more. Her long fingers wrapped around the hilt of the sword. Swiftly redrawing the blade out from it’s sheath she held it at her side, hefting it, almost as if she were feeling the weight of it. After a long moment she clearly gathered herself and met his gaze, nodding her head fully this time.

  Well, she didn’t smile, but she’s not going to run away or just get herself killed. Fine, moving on.

  Turning he caught Thana staring at him again. Locking her eyes with his own he addressed her once more.

  “Kitten will be the front line and I’ll be working to keep them off her by bouncing their aggro list around a little. I’ll also be trying to chip at their health or eliminate one if I can,” Runner explained. “I need you to let us attack them a few times to generate enough aggro so that they’ll ignore you and not just run straight for you. Err, aggro as in, who they hate the most. The more damage you do, the more healing you cast, the faster you end up at the top of their priority list.”

  Runner waited, watching her eyes, to see if she understood. With a practically imperceptible acknowledgment she signaled for him to continue.

  “Then, and only then, cast at that target. For every two attacks she lands after that, you can cast again. Orc’s have thick hides so go for something that is piercing. That or will lower their ability to fight. Understood?”

  “I understand. I also recognize you’re correct. Your plan is sound though it has a large flaw. I fear that we will be over run. Katarina can only take so much punishment, even with your ensorcelled equipment,” Thana said, concern tinging her voice.

  “A fair point. It will not be an issue. I will be acting as healer as well. This isn’t exactly ideal but we’ll make do with what we have. The damage shouldn’t over whelm my ability to heal,” Runner assured her. At the mention of him being able to heal her eyebrows jumped upwards.

  Ice shattered and sprayed bits of itself in every direction. A gap large enough for Orcs was coming to shape, they’d start piling through it any minute. Their time had expired.

  “Kitten, get in that breach! If we can bottleneck them in that break, this’ll be easier,” Runner shouted. Moving even as he spoke he started sprinting for the opening. The distance wasn’t great but he was still sure most would get through before he got there.

  Katarina started out ahead of him by a few paces, but left him behind as if he was standing still. Red hair trailing behind her like a streamer, she pulled further ahead of him. Roaring deep from deep within, Katarina advanced on them. She cleared the distance with blazing speed and charged them like the angry fist of a goddess of war.

  Shield held high like a ram, she bashed them into each other and wedged them into the opening. Two had seen her coming and gotten out of the way before she could get to them. Engaging those in the front at the rift, she wasn’t able to respond to those who had escaped and now circled around her.

  Runner would arrive to her side too late to prevent them from scoring easy Flank attacks. Their aggro list would only have her on it as no one else had acted. He needed to do something now, in this instant, or she’d pay for his inaction.

  Using the instant cast Regeneration on Katarina, both Huck on the left and Puck on the right, turned to face him. Ignoring Katarina they focused on the new target, Runner the healer.

  Weapons clanged as blows were exchanged in the melee at the breach. Katarina’s shouts of pain and anger resounded over the Orcs bellows in return. Sliding up to the two Orcs facing him he attacked Puck’s cleaver. Sword rebounding from the ugly little blade Runner targeted Huck and activated Slash.

  He only managed a basic hit on Huck and a partial disarm on Puck. His timers were refreshing as both Orcs attacked. Turning to the side he was unable to dodge the cleaver and barely parried Huck’s club. The ugly crunch of the cleaver hitting his flesh filled his ears. It came away bloody from his arm.

  Runner was immediately affected with the Bleeding status ailment. It would continue for the next five seconds for an extra five damage on top of the damage from the strike.

  Pain was still a surprise to him, a grimace painting his face. Perhaps relying on the pod so deeply had raised the immersion level. Though it was a serious wound that would debilitate a person in real life, it did little more than cause pain here. It was still just a game after all.

  Casting Fireblast in the face of Huck he tried to disarm Puck once again. Fire played over Huck’s face and the Burning effect took hold with a “whump”.

  Puck’s cleaver went spinning from his hand and clattered noisily into a wall. Turning to Huck Runner launched his Slash attack as
it come off from cooldown. His attack cleared the Orc and from out of nowhere a large spear of ice impaled the Orc through his chest. Falling backwards under the weight of the attack Huck hit the ground and died.

  Runner checked on Katarina and found she was losing ground. Her health ticked away under the continuous pounding she was receiving and was already at half. In that glance he saw she was suffering under several different status ailments as well. Puck was still in the process of retrieving his cleaver. Taking the opportunity Runner cast Cleanse on Katarina and immediately snapped off Cure twice in rapid succession. Mana pool now seriously depleted, he turned his attention back to Puck who was rapidly approaching him.

  Runner activated a quick slot item he’d prepared earlier. Slamming down a mana restoration potion he tossed the bottle aside once he’d emptied it. Using an item reset his global cooldown though, giving Puck another attack before he could respond in kind.

  A partial deflection was the best he managed and it was only a glancing blow, but once more he was afflicted with Bleeding. Scrutinizing his health bar he had forty or so points left. His supply of mana was definitely limited, but it was coming back under the strength of the potion. He would need to be sparing with it and keep it’s use restricted to keeping Katarina in the fight. He’d need to work harder at improving his restoration magic if they got out of this, that and his mana pool.

  Returning the attack with one of his own, Runner was able to score a hit off Puck’s thigh. Aligning himself once more with his foe he cast Regeneration on Katarina when the first casting wore off. Puck’s return stroke landed solidly and took another deep bite from his dwindling hit point pool. With such little armor and low stats, he just couldn’t take hits. Another attack and that’d be game over for him.