Chapter 50: Chapter 50

(Whaaaatup? Welcome to the big time, with chapter FIFTY of Aegis Online! This one will be a triple-length special chapter to commemorate getting this far! I seriously could NOT have done this without all of you reading, commenting, and supporting me over the course of all these chapters. I hope you’ll all continue to keep supporting me, as well as our heroine, in the future!)

 

As I make the not-so-veiled threat of kicking butt, the former stream-snipers share a look that screams, ‘well, she isn’t wrong about that…’ as I wave to Marika. Hiding behind Sionnach, she advances across the courtyard to join us. The archer flinches a little, clearly remembering the last time they’d met, when Marika had used some weird pink mist spell to make him cough himself to death.

I gesture. “So, we know the cleric is Ferrule, but what about the rest of you?”

The reptilian Executioner thumps his chest. “Bassan of the wildmarsh. The honour is mine.” His voice is oddly deep, without the stereotypical sssssssss nonsense.

Triple-shot McGee scratches his jaw. “Graus Oakhead. Sorry about trying to kill you, um… miss.” He blushes awkwardly as Marika peeks out from behind her protector.

The Vulpa twins take their turn. One, a female judging by her more slender face and softer features, hops up and down. “I’m Connla! And this is my brother Lobo!”

The brother nods. “Yeah, we’re siblings IRL, so we often get into the same games and crap. This one’s fun, though, so I’m cool with it.”

Finally, it’s the samurai’s turn to introduce himself. He coughs, before groaning, “Ugh, this sucks, gimme a second!” He pulls open an emergency menu for his pod and fiddles with it for a moment.

 Clearing his throat again, he opens his mouth. His voice is… different. “Whoo! That’s better! I’m sooo glad I decided to turn that voice modulator off!”

Ferrule rolls her eyes. “Always the drama queen…” She mutters, as the samurai waves. “Yeah, I’m a GIRL, actually. Sorry for that! My name’s Genevieve, and I’m an Onna-Bugeisha, a female-exclusive variant class of the Samurai!”

 

I splutter in surprise, as Asteria’s face goes all 0_0 in shock, with Sionnach and Marika following suit in their own ways.  Genevieve giggles, and I sigh. “Well, barring any more surprises, I think I know what your issue is. You have two problems. First, you’re all using basic classes, if I’m not wrong about that.”

I wait for the nods, and then continue, “Second, your party composition. One healer/support caster, three ranged DPS players, a melee DPS, and… Genevieve, do you have any abilities that draw aggro to you?”

She nods. “I have three, but they have long cooldowns, sadly. Most of my class features do, in exchange for giving me a damage buff and increased resistance to movement-inhibiting status effects.”

I nod. “So you’re a half-tank. Your party is missing a pure tank and at least one more person capable of healing and support magic.  Luckily, I’m a Bulwark, so that covers the tank aspect. Marika and Asteria both have offensive and support magic, so that’s good, and Sionnach? What’s the Bladebreaker class good at?”

“Nice of you to ask!” the Celtic-accented Vulpa grins. “I’m a burst damage specialist. Basically, I don’t hit very often, but when I do, it’ll fucking HURT. Plus, I have a couple of self-buffs and debuff strikes to throw out for good measure.”

 

  I nod. “Well, I think we can cover all the bases. I think we should make sure to prepare, and then gather this evening for a strategy meeting. Sound good?”

Our new allies nod and relax a little. “Alright, we’ll go get some potions and things. We’ll make sure to get enough for everyone, don’t worry. See you in… about three hours?” Ferrule confirms.

I look at my friends, and nod. “Yeah, do you know the Claymore’s Grave? It’s not too far from here, and there’s a Translocation Beacon right close by.”

Genevieve makes a note and nods. “Alright, we’ll go shopping. Thanks for giving us a chance, after that little stunt we pulled. Catch you later!”

The six of them make their way past us, and I turn to my friends. “I guess we should make any preparations we need to? I’m going to do a couple of things as well; I can’t fail at being a tank!”

Marika pipes up, “first, thanks for coming to back me up. Second, are you going to buy some skill-scrolls from… Dr Francois and Gimmel? They’ve managed to copy certain skills and produce scrolls that you can read to learn the skill inscribed on the vellum.”

I pause. I haven’t told anyone about Skill-Forge except Asteria and Dr Frank, and I’d really prefer to keep it that way, at least for now. I’ve only used it a couple of times, after all. “Um, I didn’t know that, I’ll give it a look, I guess!” I fib.

We all break up to go and prepare, and I turn to my streaming orb. “Alright, I’m just gonna take a quick little break, since I need to grab a snack. Please stand by!”

I cut the orb for a duration of fifteen minutes, taking the opportunity to crack open my status and level myself up. Thanks to the points I’ve accrued, I can level a bunch, hitting level 35. I have 45 Attribute Points and a ridiculous 90 Ability Points stashed away for just such an occasion. I really shouldn’t have neglected this for so long! I wince at how much time this’ll eat up out of my 15 minute break.

 

KETTRIN________

Skyborne

Bulwark Level 20->35

CON: 26->35

DEX: 26->30

STR: 30->40

WIS: 18-> 25

INT: 18->25

LUCK: 25->33

 

 

 

Then it’s the Ability Points. I begin by levelling Skill-Forge to level Three, costing me 30 points. Now I can transfer or create even more powerful skills. Next, I spot a skill that has a little symbol that indicates it’s a combo skill. Wind Shot. If combined with Thunder Cannon, it fires off a blast of electrified air that can paralyse an enemy, a combo skill named Cirrus Crash. I snap up the Wind Shot for five points.

Next, I hunt through the list of passive skills, setting my sights on a skill named Radiant Wings. It allows my wings to shed light in the darkness, removing any need for a torch or lantern. Ten more points spent.

An aggro skill, now, please….. Ah! I jab my finger at a skill that looks promising. It’s a physical taunt that inflicts damage. Only problem is, it causes you to throw your right hand weapon at the target. It’s called ‘Radiant Lance’. I snap it up for another ten points, then grab a skill called ‘recall’, allowing me to summon my thrown weapon back to my hand.  Five more points gone, only thirty left.

Finally, I decide to blow all my remaining points on two abilities. One costs five, and is a second taunt, ‘Disrespect’. It allows me to roar at an enemy, and if they fall for the taunt, they can’t attack anyone else for the duration.

The last ability is called ‘Strength of the Ancient Ones’, an aura effect that slowly regenerates HP for everyone in a surprising range, allowing them to fight for longer than they should, as well as reducing all incoming damage by 15%.

I finish my levelling and, as I check my inventory window, I pause. “Huh…”

My swordspear was made for level 20’s, but… it’s the same level as me. Why? Did whatever Ulged do to it make it a weapon that can keep up with me???

No time to dwell on that now. Using what little time I have left, I access my Skill-Forge, throwing together a skill that’d been pinging around the back of my mind, finalizing it and hitting the button to make it a reality. Closing my menu, I watch the last few seconds tick down, and sigh. I hope this works…

I explain the plan to my audience, as well as telling them, “I’m looking into getting some moderators, and I already have a couple of shortlisted names! I’ll be getting in touch with them soon, so keep behaving for me, ‘kay?”

I check the time, and get to my feet, brushing down the backs of my legs and butt, hearing metal chiming against metal. “Oh, right, I’m still in my armour. Doi.”

Unfurling my wings, I hop into the air and begin rising, skimming over the rooftops as I make my way towards the Claymore’s Grave tavern, enjoying the early evening sunlight, lazily beating my wings as I soar, just above the roofs and balconies of the still-bustling city. A few Argonauts wave up at me, and I get the sneaking suspicion some of them might be fans. I wave back, just in case, performing a languid aileron roll, giggling to myself as I spot Marika in the streets below. She’s not even looking up. I descend, landing a few metres back with enough noise that she turns to look. She’s wearing a bit of a glum look on her face, and I feel a twinge of sympathy, muting my stream so no-one can hear.

“Hey, what’s up, Marika? You look kinda bummed-out about something. Don’t worry, I deafened my stream. We’ve got privacy. I can turn it off, if you want, though.”

She sighs. “Yeah, I’ve been having a rough time IRL today. I still feel like I was to blame for a lot of unfair and cruel things I said and did to you, your Skyborne friend with the black wings, and Asteria. I guess karma finally took note.”

I take Marika by the elbow, and guide her toward a bench, about mid-way along the near-deserted street. Turning to my streaming orb, I unmute it and announce, “I know I only just came back from a break, but I need to make an unscheduled stop for a bit. I’ll be back when I’m back, just be patient with me, guys! See you soon!”

Ending my stream, I turn to give the pink-haired girl my full attention, gently taking her hand. “Alright, what’s wrong? I feel like this is serious… you don’t have to go into detail, just as much as you’re comfortable sharing with me.”

  She sighs again, and I can hear the tremble in her breath. She’s holding it together for the moment, but the poor girl’s on the verge of tears. I guess what happened earlier didn’t help, either.

“My… my mum got fired today. And… arrested. They let her out on bail, but she’s been absolutely vile all afternoon. She’s been ranting about how she won’t let the ones responsible for standing in the way of her ‘righteous mission’ go unpunished…”

I feel a shock of ice run down my spine. “Your… your mum wouldn’t happen to be a… Janet Foster…. Would she?”

Marika’s digitized face goes slack with surprise. “How… H-how would you know that?!”

Her reaction confirms what I’d just begun to suspect. “W-well… I think I might be the reason… your mum wasn’t supposed to be my therapist. She’d used a… a digital Daemon, called an ICEpick, to hack into the system at Re-Spec and change my assigned therapist to her instead of my original one. Then she… she said some really horrible things, even ‘offered’ to put me on antipsychotics….”

Marika’s eyes go wide. “No… No way…. She said everything they said accused her of was a complete lie, but… she’s been working at Re-Spec for years…. And sometimes she’d come home in a scarily good mood….. Why were YOU at a gender issues clinic, though? Or is it something you can’t tell me?”

I cringe a little “well, fuck. I… I did kinda give myself away there, didn’t I…? Alright, I trust you with this, Marika, so please, please don’t tell anyone about me without my express consent…”

I take the other girl’s hands, squeezing them, desperately hoping she won’t hate me for this, or freak out. I still remember her original reaction to my kissing Asteria, and Harvenhaight’s sexuality.

“Alright, Kettrin. You forgave me when I didn’t deserve it, so… I’ll keep your secret, as long as it isn’t something illegal. I don’t think it is, you’re a nice girl, and a better person than me, so I’ll try being more like you. I promise, I won’t share your secret without your permission.”

Swallowing, I feel the aching chill of ice in my spine, and just… say it.

 

“Marika… I’m…. I’m transgender. I was born a boy, but I’ve always been a girl on the inside. I was recommended to Re-Spec in order to get the help I need to become a girl on the outside, as well.”

 

Marika stares at me, dumbfounded. “You’re… you’re a girl, but you weren’t born one?”

I nod, and she shrinks in on herself a little. “And… my mum tried to stop you?”

I nod again. “Yeah… I’m not going to repeat what she said, but it was awful.”

The next words out of Marika’s mouth rock me to the core. “I… I don’t care. You’ve been nicer to me than all the ‘approved friends’ my mother and her parents’ group. My religion is… despised, and apparently for VERY good reason… B-but I don’t want to see its legacy be nothing but hate and fear. I… I want to change what it stands for.  I won’t turn out like my mother, not even if it kills me!”

I bite my lip as Marika vents, her voice starting to grow louder. “E-easy, keep your voice down! People are going to overhear!”

She clears her throat, looking a bit embarrassed. “W-well, anyway. I don’t have a problem keeping your secret. It’s the least I can do for a… a friend.”

I hug her for a brief moment, and murmur, “Thank you, Marika. It means a lot to me that you think of me as a friend. I’m… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.”

“It’s fine! So, how did you figure out… well, you? I mean, if that’s a question I’m allowed to ask,” she enquires, curiously tilting her head. I smile.

“Yeah, you can ask that. Well, I only found out a few months ago. Before then, I just thought that going through life with a constant feeling of weird wrongness was something everyone had to deal with. No-one ever talked about it, so I didn’t learn it wasn’t normal until later. Then I started playing this game and accidentally set my avatar to female. I didn’t feel the same wrongness here, and then someone explained what I was feeling. Things started making sense, and I understood myself for the first time.”

Marika brushes a thick lock of vibrant pink hair out of her face. “Really? You only learned about yourself a few months ago? Wow, that’s a lot to take in…”

“I know, I had to re-evaluate my entire life! But, now that I know who I am, I never wanna go back to that dark and miserable place again.”

Marika winces in sympathy. I lean in. “Sooo, you and Sionnach, hmmm? What’s going on there?” I tease, making Marika’s face almost match her hair in effervescence.

“Asdfghjkl!!!”

I giggle as the baby gay sitting next to me buries her face in her hands. She mumbles, “I dunno…. She’s so hot… and she’s all confident and stuff…. And she makes me feel all tingly! Like, in ways I’ve never felt when I dated guys…”

 I pat her knee. “Yeah, I think you two are cute together. You make a really nice couple!”

She goes even redder, somehow, despite that not seeming possible. I smirk. Asteria’s been a baaaad influence on me!

I take pity on the blushing puddle of girl before me and explain. “But yeah, I knew I liked girls, just now I understand that I like them in the gay way. Asteria’s kind of the first person I’ve ever dated, though. It’s all new to me, so I don’t know how much help I can be. Just… don’t rush into things, take your time getting to know Sionnach, let her get to know you. You don’t need to impress her, so just be yourself!”

Marika pauses, chewing her bottom lip slowly, and I smile at her. “It’s that simple, just… be chill.”

She blushes adorably, and I lean over and give her a quick hug. “Anyway, I still like you, and I hope you don’t blame me for your mum getting fired. I swear, I didn’t plan for that to happen.”

“It doesn’t seem like you’re that kind of girl, so no, I don’t blame you. Anyway, shall we get over to the meeting point? It’s getting a little late.”

I nod and resume my stream. “Sorry about that, guys, I’m back! So, we’re about to head to meet up with the guys who asked us to help them with a monster or something big and scary. They didn’t reeeaaallly mention WHAT they’re trying to fight, so we’re gonna need to get as much information as they can give.”

 

Marika and I begin to make our way over to the Claymore’s Grave, running into Connla and Lobo en-route, the Vulpae carrying packs almost as big as them. Connla waves.

“Heyhey! We got all the stuff we can! We’ll explain and divvy it up when we get there, okay?”

I smile down at the small fox people, starting to get really curious about what we’re up against. From the size of those satchels, and judging by how full they look, we might be in for a rough one.

 

Arriving at the Claymore’s Grave, I push the doors open and look around. Genevieve and Ferrule are waiting at a big table in the back corner, with Bassan and Graus at the bar, ordering drinks, with Asteria not present as yet. The Vulpa twins scamper over, depositing their burdens on the floor beside the Onna-Bugeisha.  I approach and take a seat, Marika sending a glance my way, before plonking herself beside me.

Sionnach rejoins us, wearing a new-looking set of half-plate, her lazy smile widening as she spots her favourite pink-haired person, sauntering over to seat herself next to Marika at the huge rectangular table. Tankards are brought as the tall Lizzara Executioner and the bowman provide drinks, and someone enters, wearing a pale pink uniform, in a style that matches Captain Kael’Dornis-Galatea’s. If I recall correctly, the history books at college would describe it as a Redcoat uniform, but this pink one looks less decorated and ornate, more functional, without any medals or honours on the breast. Her hair is a deep, beautiful royal blue, and she approaches, reaching up to remove a tall shako hat and tucking it under her arm. At her hip, a sabre is ensconced in an elegant sheathe.

“Gooood evening all, I had to go get this. I couldn’t resist commissioning it once I saw Brandia’s outfit. The sword is a cosmetic, it’s still my rapier!”

Asteria smiles, snapping her gorgeous black boots together, saluting with a crisp, fluid movement, before settling herself down and adjusting the tails of her coat. I bite my lip, admiring how the uniform hugs her curves and gives her a somewhat fierce aspect.

Genevieve pulls a scroll out of a pouch at her waist, placing it on the table and unrolling it. “So, about our foe! This monster, the Fear of the Endless Desert, is an absolutely gargantuan scorpion-like beast. It burrows through the sands as if swimming through water, with four tails, each tipped with a venomous stinger, as well as being able to spit a corrosive acid or bile, and use its pincers to crush and rip. It fights surrounded by its offspring, a large cluster of smaller, twin-tailed scorpions. Seriously, this thing hunts and feeds on ground-dragons and landsharks!”

The Onna-Bugeisha reaches into one of the packs brought by Connla and her brother. With a clink, she places a small bottle filled with a curious liquid in a vibrant carroty shade.

“These are antidotes. They will protect you from the Fear’s poison for a brief window, as well as curing any poison currently running through your veins, but they don’t heal you. You’ll have to heal on your own time, since this thing really doesn’t let up. Even when it retreats, its brood will surge forward and allow their parent to recover by feeding on the corpse of a ground-dragon, which will add fire damage to its acidic sputum.”

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I mutter, “Eeewww, gross,” earning a warm giggle from Asteria that makes me tingle all the way from toe to wingtip. Genevieve rolls her eyes. “Settle down, lovebirds! And yeah, I know. It’s disgusting, but the damage-over-time debuffs are no joke. It’ll also eat away at your equipment and break it if you aren’t careful.”

  I wince at that; the cost of repairing my gear wouldn’t break the bank, but I don’t have any spare kit to use if my spear ends up unusable. And if my greatshield melts, I’ll be powerless to tank for us. I pull my menu up and check the stats of my greatshield. “Hmmm….”

Stormforged Tower Shield

This greatshield is capable of massively resisting physical and physical-based poison damage, as well as moderate ice, fire and earth damage. Magic, gaseous poisons, and acid will inflict major damage, due to bypassing the shield’s protective reach.

 

I huff. “Well, my shield isn’t very resistant to acid, and I figure it’s the same for my armour. However, physical damage and poisonous liquids won’t work so well against me. Poison gas will still get me, though.  I should be able to avoid the caustic bile thanks to my wings. Also, has anyone tried seeing if this monster is really scorpion-like?”

Genevieve looks at her companions. “Well, it certainly looks like one, just… bigger and with more tails. Do you have some kind of plan? We should really move, it only spawns during the evening.”

I smirk, getting up and heading to the bar for a minute, returning with something stashed in my inventory.

  “I think I have something that might work, if the myths are true. If not, it’ll still be useful! Asteria, what’s the coldest your ice magic can reach?”

She raises a perfect eyebrow, curiosity written across her face. “Um…. Well, If I upcast it, I can get the temperature as low as… -600 degrees. Is that good?”

I nod, smiling. “Make sure you keep enough MP in reserve to do that, okay? I have a plan that involves this…” I briefly show the assembled party what I’d bought.

Genevieve grins. “Okay, I’m putting two and two together and getting ‘fuck yes’, so let’s do this!”

She rises, Ferrule, Graus and Bassan standing as one, while Connla and Lobo hop off their chairs, shrugging the packs onto their shoulders again.

 

 

Following the group of new allies, Asteria and I stick close, my hand in hers, as Marika and Sionnach walk ahead of us, out of the city gates. I murmur, “They really do look cute together. I know for a fact that Marika’s got a crush on Sionnach, and Sionnach doesn’t seem like she’s against the idea.”

Asteria leans down to give me a kiss, which lasts just long enough to make me wish it lasted longer.

“I agree. I think our pinkette fire-alarm needs someone special in her life. I hope Sionnach can be that person for her.”

I sigh. Asteria and I both have our streaming orbs up and active, and I pull up a note that only I can see for privacy, taking one of the numbers written there, and calling it.

It rings half a dozen times, before a guy’s voice answers. “Good evening, you’ve reached Ravi Dechaines, how may I help you?”

I smile. Time to make this guy freak out. “Hi, you recently put your name forward to moderate for my streams? I’m Sky-Queen Kettrin, nice to make your acquaintance!”

A moment of silence falls, so deep that I start to wonder if I accidentally hung up on him or something, before he responds.

“I just pulled up your stream. You’re currently on, and I kept a window tabbed just in case. So, from what the chat’s saying, you’re tackling a raid boss and are prepared for whatever might happen.”

I nod. “Alright, you can see me. Okay, I’m going to assign you the role of moderator, show me what you’ve got. I’ll be adding a couple more, since my audience is getting pretty big now. Use this opportunity to show me what you can do!”

“I won’t let you down, ma’am!” Ravi hangs up and I wait for him to identify himself in-chat. As soon as he does, I highlight his username and assign him the role of moderator, before calling the next.

“Hi hi, this is Cassie Lindbeck, what can I do for you?” a girl’s voice answers, and I smile. “Hey there, this is Sky-Queen Kettrin! You’re on my list for moderators?”

“Ooooooh my God, yes! That’s me, hi! How can I help you?”

I explain what I’m doing and can hear the frantic drumming of keys, before she responds. “Okay, I’m in the chat now, my username is Sassy_CassieThe6th!”

I add her to the list of mods, and she immediately begins prowling through the chat, Ravi also on deck. Finally, I hit up the third prospective moderator on my list.

Ring-ring, ring-ring. Ring-ring, ring-ring.  “Hello, you’ve reached the Katz household, this is Mia, and how can I help you this evening?”

I giggle, “You can help me by confirming something for me, Mia. You put your name down to be a moderator for my stream?”

“Your… stream? Why would….. Wait…. KETTRIN?! Oh heck, oh wow, okay. I wasn’t expecting this, give me a moment.”

I smile, making sure I’m keeping up with the rest of the group, as Mia Katz has a minor freak-out. She clears her throat, and I hear her mutter quietly, “okay, Mia, don’t bork this up, she has to think you’re cool…”

“So, Mia? Are you available to hop in and trial as a moderator for this stream? I’m giving two others a probationary period.”

I can hear a lot, I mean, A LOT, of clattering on the other end of the line, accompanied by a stream of muttered invective. A few minutes later, Mia’s voice returns clearly.

“Right, I’m in! What’s going on? Do you have a plan?”

I fill her in with the whole giant-scorpion boss fight, and she pops up in chat. Highlighting ‘MissKittyKatz360’, I assign her moderator status, and she finally seems to relax and gets to work, having something she knows what to do. I hurry up, rejoining the rest of the group, and Asteria winks at me.

Genevieve grins, leading us into the trees. “We set up a little something to give us a quicker transit to the zone. Luckily, this spot is well-hidden, and, since we should have the strength to win this time, we shouldn’t need this again! Besides, it’s keyed to only allow us and those in our party to use it. Speaking of which…”

A party invite window flickers into existence, and I thumb the ‘accept’ button, seeing everyone’s names pop up in the left-hand side of my vision. Genevieve turns to her cleric. “Alright, Ferrule, you’re up. Open the Way!”

Ferrule steps forward to the cave mouth, rummaging in one of the handful of pouches strung about her waist. Extracting several dull crystals, she begins pressing them, in a specific order, to the mouth of the cave. One at three o’clock, one at nine, and one at twelve. Then at the 1:30 and 10:30 positions.

 

Small, flickering lines of energy starts crackling, as the last two are placed at the very bottom of the cave-mouth sides. The lines of power form a coruscating web over the entrance, before coalescing into a solid ring of light that flashes from colour to colour without any pattern or rhythm. Ferrule gasps, “Go! Now!”

Genevieve and Sionnach charge through the opened portal, followed by Graus and Bassan. The Vulpa twins dart through right behind, followed closely by Asteria and Marika. I raise my shield and tuck my wings tightly against my back, sprinting through.

 

 

As I barrel out of the portal, something chitinous and screeching impacts my shield and I activate Sky Hammer, beating my wings and catapulting myself forward, before slamming my shield flat on the ground. With a nasty ‘crunch’, the large scorpion that had been the first thing I met on my egress goes still. Rising, I see Ferrule hop through, and the gate closes behind her. She immediately sets about with a few minor healing spells, and I see Connla and her brother, bags on their backs, as they cast a series of overlapping AOE spells, flattening a horde of scorpions. Bassan is lashing out with his twin axes and his tail, an armoured sheathe coating the scales as he slams it down on a scorpion, crushing its midsection. Graus’ bowstrings twang repeatedly, arrows splitting chitin in precise shots, while Genevieve stands out in the middle of a horde of stingers and legs, her katana flashing as she blocks and deflects in a blur of shimmering steel.

I can already see Marika causing short pillars of rock to slam out of the ground like a pneumatic hammer, flipping scorpions over onto their backs as Asteria’s sabre slashes and thrusts, ending each threat with consummate ease. I bring my own swordspear to bear on a scorpion scuttling my way, splitting it in twain with a single blow, before turning off my Kamaitachi passive. Don’t want to waste all my MP.

Several more scorpions turn their attention to me, as Genevieve uses some knockback ability that has her briefly turn into a whirling dervish, throwing the mass of scorpions back in disarray. I spot her chug down an antidote, hurling the empty phial into the first of one of her assailants, and then I start channelling Voltesse’ lightning into my weapon. “Stormstrike!”

I slash instead of thrusting, and, instead of one, three scorpions sizzle and curl, twitching, as they expire. A rumbling comes from the farther reaches of the cavern we’ve ended up in, and something burrows out of the ground. When they said it was a big scorpion, they weren’t kidding!

The Fear of the Endless Desert is the size of an Enforcer van, and looks like it can take the same kind of punishment, too! Four tails tear themselves free from the ground, each one tipped with a bulbous casing, a long, thick, curved barb protruding from each of the bulbs. A chittering screech fills the cavern as the Fear clashes its claws, one after another, before charging forwards, lashing out with a claw at Bassan, who jumps back  to avoid the huge, crushing pincer. Raising both axes over his head, the Lizzara brings them down simultaneously. “Double Fang!”

With a pair of dull impacts, his hatchets bite into the Fear’s carapace, but it doesn’t seem to have hurt it very much. It lashes a tail at him, the barbed sting glancing off his shoulder-scales. He snarls in retaliation, slashing half-a-dozen times, using his armoured tail to block another tail strike, before darting back as Genevieve intercepts a claw, her sword clanging against the hard exoskeleton.

I raise my spear in a throwing grip. Asteria gasps, and I cast Radiant Lance. Hurling my spear forwards, it transforms into a bolt of lightning, streaking across the cavern with a crack of electrified air, striking hard and true, sparking tendrils of voltage running over the gigantic scorpion’s hide, my swordspear sticking out of a joint in its shell.

Now unarmed and with the massive arthropod rounding on me, I can see my darling Astie look panicked. I raise my empty right hand and snap my fingers, something I can’t actually do in real life, and my swordspear yanks itself free, whirling back across the distance and slapping firmly into my palm. I bring my greatshield up to meet the onrushing onslaught of chitin and focussed rage, as my arm starts to go numb under the repeated wham-wham-wham-wham, wham-wham-wham-wham of the tails beating down on my suddenly-less-than-sufficient safeguard. The damage isn’t insurmountable, but my shield certainly feels like it’s not enough in the face of something this determined to kill me.

A hail of small fireballs rain down upon the Fear of the Endless Desert, and it shrieks in fury, lashing two of its tails lashing out at Asteria, who uses the flat of her blade to swat the first stinger away, vaulting over the second as it ploughs into the stone at her feet.

 

The two Vulpae dart around the cavern, bobbing and ducking, going out of their way to aggro all the small scorpions. Once what seems to be thirty of the blasted things are chasing them, they sprint towards Marika as she kneels, both hands on the sandy floor.

 “Taggin’ you in, Mari!”

 

As the twins pass by her, one on each side, Marika’s eyes blaze a rich green, and she lets out a howl, wrenching her hands upwards. A huge, flat-topped pillar of stone shoots up, impacting the roof of the cavern with an earth-shaking crash. Well, less a ‘crash’ and more a sound like a very large person sitting on a taco platter.

 

Thick, pale blue blood and gloop trails down the sides of the stone column, as the pink-haired spellcaster sags to her left, fumbling for a MP potion as Connla helps her stay upright. Lobo begins hunting for any of the Fear’s brood, before the big mama lets out another rattling howl as it lurches to one side, a spray of gluey cobalt gore spattering onto the gravel-strewn ground. A furry face appears around my shield.

“C’mooon, Kett! On yer feet, Li’l Miss Cú Chulainn!”

Sionnach’s ears twitch impatiently, as she swings her greatsword, bringing it round to club an incoming stinger away with the flat like she’s batting in some esoteric sports-ball game. I nod, my arms still trembling a little as I shake out the vibrations from the Fear’s relentless assault. I bring my spear up, before focussing on the boss’s health bar. It’s barely touched; I watch as Asteria darts in, launching a flurry of homing purple orbs that crash into the giant arachnid’s side, peppering it with a torrent of almost two dozen hits. The bar chips away a fraction, before the barrage of spellshots peter out. Not as much as I expected… dammit, I wasn’t thinking I’d have to pull this out. I top my MP bar up to full with a basic potion, before focussing on casting a spell…. Well, less a spell and more something different.

Taking off, I flap my wings steadily, diving and driving forwards with my spear again, to keep the Fear focussed on trying to hit a flying target. I can’t use my Radiant Lance, or it might disrupt what I’m trying to do.  A ring of blue lightning appears above my head, and I let out a cry, invoking the first in a list of names.

 

“MICHAEL!”

 

A bell tolls, deep and sonorous.  I count off eleven seconds, using a timer that appeared in the corner of my vision. Once it hits 0, I raise my voice in a second shout.

 

“GABRIEL!”

 

A second bell begins tolling, in time with the first, as the countdown restarts again. Eleven seconds later, I cry out a third time.

 

 

“RAPHAEL!”

 

Eleven seconds. Three bells.

 

 

“URIEL!”

 

Eleven seconds. Four bells.

 

 

“JOPHIEL!”

 

Eleven seconds. Five bells…

 

 

“CAMAEL!”

Eleven seconds. Six bells, all ringing in chorus. Finally, I raise my spear towards the ceiling of this huge cavern, and let out a howl, as I call the final of the seven names.

 

“ZADKIEL!”

 

All the bells ring out once more, and then fall silent, as the glowing, lightning-halo above my head flares brighter for a brilliant moment. I roar out, my clear, high voice breaking the sudden hush.

“I call upon the Heavenly Host!”

Wings. Beating. Not mine, though. From above, two glowing gates form, opening. Two figures, clad in bright armour of silver and blue, descend, golden wings bearing them steadily downwards. They land, either side of me. Two names pop up above their own lighting haloes.

The left one, armed with a sword of pure lightning, has the title, ‘Principality of Thunder’.

 The right one, a massive grey hammer wreathed in crackling energy, bears the designation, ‘Principality of Lightning’.

Alright… let’s do this!

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