The Dragon's Revenge Read online

  Those on low-level duty were still important to the raid, as it was necessary to kill a hundred and one Anura Worshipers to spawn their god. The Anura essentially being a race of humanoids with frog-like limbs and features. While these mobs bounced around the jungle in the vicinity of the ziggurat, being chased and hunted by over a hundred of our players, I organised the hit squad that was going to drive into the heart of the temple.

  Raid Leader: Klytotoxos, hunter, half-elf, Level 47

  Loot rights: All

  Group 1

  Group Leader: Klytotoxos, hunter, half-elf, Level 47

  Raithahunterhalf-elfLevel 47

  SapentiasorceresshumanLevel 49

  Grythissshadow knightlizardmanLevel 48

  BrajaclerichumanLevel 46

  TusclshamanhumanLevel 50

  Group 2

  Group Leader: Oveidio, warrior, human, Level 46

  Woanclerichalf-elfLevel 48

  SerethinabardelfLevel 50

  Rubblethumperwarriorhalf-orcLevel 51

  Silvaclerichalf-elfLevel 47

  RasquelleroguegnomeLevel 50

  OwenroguehalflingLevel 35

  RurnsorcererhumanLevel 30

  MarmaladepaladindwarfLevel 31

  Group 3

  Group Leader: Tombalinor, bard, half-elf, Level 49

  SavodamonkhumanLevel 29

  HealyupyclericdwarfLevel 24

  GrosmandredwarriorhumanLevel 25

  OgwarriorgnomeLevel 21

  Nullenthawarriorhalf-elfLevel 20

  BirchdruidelfLevel 20

  RahodclerichumanLevel 20

  Group 4

  Group Leader: Roberta, necro, human, Level 46

  SpinespikeclericelfLevel 29

  GlarinsonpaladindwarfLevel 21

  Elarthashadow knightlizardmanLevel 23

  Veridadruidhalf-elfLevel 25

  Rauskelwizardhalf-elfLevel 26

  [Smoked] ‘The raid is pretty straightforward, until we get to the god fight. According to the guide, he has a vicious Area of Effect, but it’s directional: a cone. So we’ll need to turn him and pull him into a corner. When we have the god pinned and facing away from the raid, groups three and four take out the priests and guardians who will come running in every twenty-five per cent hit point loss. Groups one and two will focus on the god, with the Braja, Roan and Silva in that order healing the tank…’ Here, I hesitated, knowing what I was about to say was controversial. ‘…who will be Grythiss for the pull and Rubblethumper when Grythiss goes down.’

  [Smoked] ‘Why not me for the pull? I’m three levels higher.’

  [Smoked] ‘Is that Rubblethumper?’

  [Smoked] ‘Yeah.’

  The real answer was that I trusted Grythiss, while Oveidio had not been impressed with Rubblethumper. That wasn’t something I could say in public though. [Smoked] ‘We need to drag the god into a corner, Grythiss is smaller than you, we’ll get a tighter trap.’

  [Smoked] ‘Rurn here. I can make Rubble a gnome for the battle, if that helps.’

  Inwardly, I sighed. Hopefully, though, my voice didn’t convey disappointment. [Smoked] ‘Okay, let’s do that. And Tuscl, you have Shrink also? That should help too.’

  [Smoked] ‘Si. I will equip it.’

  The issue was that of keeping the god facing away from the raid. If our tank wasn’t absolutely tight to the corner, there might be space for the angry boss (especially if he had any kind of AI and understood the situation) to slip inside, face around and use his cone on the whole raid. Our success might well depend on the tank keeping the aggro and being in such a confined physical position that the boss could only attack the one player.

  [Smoked] ‘Group leaders, let me know when you are ready.’

  My own group was all set. Raitha and I had equipped ourselves for fighting rather than hunting and stealth. In other words, we were in half-elf form and had slotted Swiftshot II, Strength of a Bear, Frost Arrow, Swift as a Panther and good old Spark, rather than Gather Shadow and Leave no Trace. Over our shoulders we each had a Superb Hickory Bow, courtesy of Scarlet, who had to make dozens of these to reach 205 in Bowyer (while not magical, these bows had an impressive range of 320 metres, gave +15 to Archery and allowed for full Strength bonuses to damage). I was hoping to use the raid to improve my archery skill.

  [Smoked] ‘Group two ready.’ This was the clipped Russian accent of Oveidio.

  [Smoked] ‘Group four ready.’

  [Smoked] ‘Group one ready.’

  Tombalinor’s US accent came through, loud and enthusiastic. [Smoked] ‘Group three ready.’

  [Smoked] ‘Here we go, good luck everyone.’

  To my surprise, Ride of Valkyries began to play through the raid channel. It really brought back my early days in Epic and some of the classic raids we’d carried out.

  [Channel Klytotoxos/Raitha] ‘Is that you?’ I asked.

  [Channel Klytotoxos/Raitha] ‘It is, my friend, I found that I missed this stirring music on our raids, so I downloaded it to my watch and am playing it now.’

  [Channel Klytotoxos/Raitha] ‘Well done. I’ve goosebumps.’

  As the violins began their sweeping march towards the famous refrain, our fighting force moved out of the cover of the trees to the foot of a huge, orange-brick ramp. Above us, the zigguarat looked enormous, a solid mountain blocking the stars. Higher still, were wisps of smoke, coming from a fire within the temple and visible to me as a heat signature.

  Also near the point at which the ramp touched the ground were dozens of our low-level raiders, gathered to cheer us as we went past them at a jog. Their weapons were raised in salute.

  ‘Go for it!’

  ‘Take them out!’

  ‘Good luck!’

  It was heartening to have so many expert players on my side at last. If I could call my mum, I’d reassure her that things were fine now and that I was really enjoying the challenge in fact.

  [Smoked] ‘Diamond formation,’ I called out. ‘Group one on point, two left, three right and four the rear.’

  Our formation wasn’t as rigid as the word diamond might suggest. Rather, we were four squishy clusters. But the basic shape was there. My group was in the lead, groups two and three just a little back, covering our flanks for when the ramp reached levels of the zigguarat on which paths joined onto it and group four were a reserve or to cover the back in case of a surprise attack from that direction.

  Halfway up, we were above the treeline, with a glorious view of the night sky and the game’s two moons. To my eyes, the world was a kind of monochromatic, silvered daytime and it was easy to see the first wave of guards coming towards us, spears and axes raised. These were also Anura, looking a little like Aztecs, wearing colourful plated armour, with feathers in their helmets and with clubs embedded with sharp stones.

  [Smoked] ‘Incoming. All tanks to the front. Healers cover your own group’s tank. Those with crowd control park as many as you can.’

  This was our first test. With players this strong, I shouldn’t have to micro-manage. And, it seemed, I didn’t. Oveidio, Grythiss and Rubblethumper ran forward and were engulfed in the coming wave of about a dozen opponents. Soon, though, they were visible again as our two bards each Mesmerised three of the Anura. Of the remaining six mobs, our druid pulled a warrior-type away from the scrum and rooted it, while Tuscl dragged and slowed another. As our raid converged on the melee, I kept back, watching, feeling satisfied with what I saw. This was a competent group of players. While the tanks held the mobs, the clerics healed without drawing attention to themselves, likewise the DPS classes waited until the tanks had secured the mobs before unleashing nukes or backstabs.

  As for the hunters, we were hybrids. In a crisis, we might be able to kite a mob down the ramp. For now, though, there was no need and adding damage was our best role. Since none of us had activated PvP, there was no danger from firing into the chaos of the fight. We couldn’t harm our friends. So, somewhat unrealistically, I stood alongside Raitha and we fired arrow
after arrow into Grythiss’s opponent. Or at least Raitha did. I mostly missed.

  It only took a few minutes and we had killed the active Anura. Next, we took out the one Tuscl was kiting (she had gone down the ramp and circled back up with it when I called her in) and after that we broke the Mesmerise on Tombalinor’s three, then those of Serethina. When the last of the death reports had scrolled past, I came in on the raid channel. [Smoked] ‘Very nicely done. Clerics are good to keep going?’

  [Smoked] ‘Seventy-two,’ said Braja, concise as he always was when raiding (in marked contrast to his volubility when outside the game).

  Woan chipped in with her pleasant French accent, very distinct. [Smoked] ‘Good here also; I am at sixty-nine.’

  The other four were all above sixty.

  Time to get moving again. [Smoked] ‘Back to our diamond and on we go. So long as you have inventory room, help yourself to drops, we’re not going to hang around worrying about them. Only call out if it’s something special.’

  Up and up we went, the stones of the ramp pointing the way with a paler sheen than the heavy darkness of the main body of the ziggurat to either side of us. From high up, as though from among the stars came the cry of an eagle. It was a dramatic setting for our raid.

  At the top of the ramp, we had a reception committee: ten warrior Anura, glaring fiercely at us over rectangular shields. Beyond them were four more worshipers of the Smoke God, who were casters or commanders or both, their feathers were more pronounced than those of the fighters in front of them.

  Our strike force came to a halt about ten metres below their line.

  [Smoked] ‘Let’s force them out of their defensive position. Archers, nukes and dots on the back row: everyone target the female on the left with the fancy red feathers. Counting down from ten. Ten…nine…’ As I gave the countdown, the casters began their spells, starting them appropriately so as to finish as I reached one. On three, I raised my bow and drew back the string. ‘…Two. One. Fire!’

  Your arrow has hit an Anura cleric for 8 damage.

  You have increased the skill Archery (24).

  A flash of green light; a flicker of shadows; the roar of rapids; a stench of decay. Our target lost half her hit points in that one second. Immediately, there was a reaction: all of their casters began chanting and the warriors in their front row rose and sank, as if making up their mind whether to charge.

  [Smoked] ‘Stay on that cleric, fire at will. Move to the next left when she’s down.’

  The night sky was lit up with the exchange of spells and even with the trails of our missiles. Having cast Frost Arrow my next shot left a beautiful, deep violet line in the night air as it flew across to their ranks. Shame it missed. Mostly, the colours of the spells were silver and white and left strong afterimages. It took us less than a minute and we had killed the cleric. There was a cost though, we suffered our first casualties: a fireball to my right landing on group three, instantly greying out Nullentha, Birch and Rahod from the raid screen and dramatically lowering the hit point bars of the remainder.

  [Smoked] ‘Switch to the wizard. He’s the one on the right.’ I’d seen the spectacular launch of the swirling white-hot fireball. Just to be clear, I repeated, [Smoked] ‘Swap to the back-right mob. We don’t want another of those fireballs.’

  [Smoked] ‘Lizardman leadsss charge?’

  [Smoked] ‘Hold off. I think we have him.’

  Our barrage of arrows and nukes melted the wizard fast, better still, each time a major spell of ours landed, he staggered and lost his concentration on whatever new spell he was planning to cast on us. We did indeed have him and could now turn our attention back to our target on the left of the remaining pair. This one was probably a druid, to judge from the way she was directing ivy to entwine itself around our legs. When she was dead (following which I got a warning from Sapentia that her spirit was down to 15 per cent), the Anura warriors realised their wall was no longer any use and they charged.

  By the time they reached Grythiss, Oveidio and Rubblethumper, all of whom had edged forward and braced themselves, there were only four of our opponents still in action, our bards had played their magical music to entrance the other six. You had to admire the Anura warriors though, they didn’t show any dismay; loud, aggressive croaks rang out into the night sky and they lashed at our front line with their spiked clubs and surprising speed. Still, it was an easy fight for us, as was picking off the Mesmerised mobs afterwards. Our two dead characters were brought back to life (with exp penalties, unfortunately for them) with a Restore Life. As we waited for our Lazaruses to re-equip themselves, a number of players knelt at the bodies of the Anura dead to loot them.

  [Smoked] ‘There’s a magic ring on the cleric,’ said someone.

  [Smoked] ‘Thanks. Give it to Sapentia for Identify please. Let’s move on inside. Group one, then two, then three, then four.’

  After one more short stretch of climb, we finally reached the top of the ramp and ahead of us was a wide entrance to the ziggurat proper. A light that wavered from yellow to amber spoke of torches or fires further down the corridor.

  [Smoked] ‘Ring is Breathe Without Air,’ announced Sapentia.

  [Smoked] ‘Interesting. Potentially very useful.’

  [Smoked] ‘Maybe I should have it,’ came a voice which I recognised as that of Tombalinor. ‘If you want my group back farming Asthraxia again after this raid.’

  For a moment I felt an upsurge of resentment that anyone should make a play for magic items, when, after all, I was leading the raid and the overall project. And it didn’t help that Tombalinor was one of those people who was still bad-mouthing me. Yet he had a good point and ownership of the ring didn’t really matter.

  [Smoked] ‘Sure, good idea. Sapentia, pass that ring along please. Everyone, wait here, I’ll pull.’

  Bow in hand, I walked confidently down the corridor, coming to a crossroads. Both corridors to the left and right were dark - no flickering torchlight - and in any case, going deeper into the complex seemed like the obvious thing to do. A few dozen metres after having done so, I heard a faint sound, which came again, a little like that of someone drawing a short, deep breath.

  You have been hit by a blow dart for 0 damage. You have been poisoned. You take 18 damage.

  You have been hit by a blow dart for 0 damage. You have been poisoned. You take 14 damage.

  Damn. So much for feeling invulnerable. As I ran back to my raid, I saw a part of the wall on either side of the corridor slide open and the hidden Anura warriors spring out to chase me.

  [Smoked] ‘Incoming! Two Anura warriors. And I’ve been poisoned.’

  [Smoked] ‘The poison; I will remove it,’ said Woan.

  Soon, our raid was beating up the guards, while after losing another 34 damage, I received the very welcome message:

  You are no longer poisoned.

  [Channel Woan/Klytotoxos] ‘Remove Poison, he worked?’ Woan asked me, in that peculiar French way of assigning genders to everything, even spells. I wondered how that worked, which spells were female and which male? How did they know? Like, when you were the first person to invent a new thing, did you get to name it and decide its gender?

  [Channel Woan/Klytotoxos] ‘Yes, thank you very much.’

  With the Anura warriors dead and my hit points restored to max (752) I brought the raid as far as the crossroads (group 2 facing left, group 3 right) and set off again, this time more cautiously. And although I was no rogue, I was delighted when I spotted a wire running across the corridor at knee level. Carefully coming to a halt before it, I studied the walls and roof for any signs of what this wire might trigger.

  [Smoked] ‘Wire trap here but I’ve no idea what it means. Rasquelle, can you come up to me please.’

  [Smoked] ‘On my way.’

  ‘Hey,’ the female gnome materialised at my elbow. ‘I see it.’

  ‘Do you know what the trap is?’

  There was a distant expression in the gnome’s eye
s and after a minute of this, she focused on me and smiled. ‘Yes, it connects to a bell somewhere.’

  ‘How about you stay here and I carry on,’ I proposed, ‘and we bring everyone up and you make sure they step over it?’

  ‘Or I could just disarm it.’

  ‘Can you? What’s the chance you’ll fail and set it off?’

  ‘About one in twenty.’

  ‘Okay, sure.’

  A minute later a bell began to ring loudly and the gnome looked at me with a guilty expression. Which of us felt the most foolish, I could not say: her for the fumble, or me for taking even a small risk when I hadn’t needed to. For a second or two I just stood there, looking down an empty corridor, wishing I could roll back time.

  ‘Let’s get back behind the fighters,’ I said, with a tone of resignation that was evident to my own ears.

  [Smoked] ‘We’ve messed up the trap. Get ready for some serious action.’

  When I came back to the raid, I wasn’t happy with the situation. All bunched together like this, we were perfect targets for enemy AE attacks.

  [Smoked] ‘Group four, go back to the top of the ramp please, watch out for an attack from the rear. Two and three, push into your corridors a few metres, imagine a fireball landing on group one and make sure you are far enough in to be screened.’

  There was a rumbling sound from the corridor ahead. Like a drum roll growing in volume. It resolved itself as a crowd of Anura, who paused.

  [Smoked] ‘Nuke ’em, then groups one and two charge.’

  Or enemies seemed to have a similar approach to the battle, for with a crackle of ozone and a brilliant, dazzling flash, lightning flashed in all directions.

  You have been hit by a Lightning Strike for 0 damage.

  When I had recovered my wits, I could see that other than me, group one had been heavily damaged. Sapentia, Braja and Tuscl were all less than half. And just as I was about to congratulate myself that groups two and three were fine, the raid channel flared up with a dozen excited shouts, the gist of which were that a host of enemies were coming up the ramp at group four and arrows were flying at group three.

  [Smoked] ‘Silence!’ shouted Grythiss, so curtly his usual lizardman lisp was lost for a second. ‘Thiss could be a wipe. Lissten carefully to raid leader.’