Trapped in a Game Pt. 03

I rolled over with a groan, and Serra coughed as a cloud of dust raised up about us.

I studied Serra who had undoubtedly tried to push me out of the way of the collapsing floor.

"You know, for someone who's always scolding me for doing dumb shit, you sure tried to do something stupid there."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Serra replied dismissively, pretending to be completely unaware of what I was referring to, but as I studied her she showed a faint little smile.

I was about to reach over to her, when a deep low growl came echoing down to us from above, and I looked up at the pile of rubble to our left to see a large hound like creature take form, staring at us with those familiar deep red eyes.

"What is that?" I muttered, as we backed away slowly from the beast.

"A blink dog, I think," Serra muttered, "though I don't know why one would be with a vampire. We're in trouble here, Josh. It's deadly and quick, and we're sitting ducks."

I considered the situation, then decided to channel my inner Serra and go for an unorthodox solution.

Pulling up my inventory, I retrieved one of the skewers that I'd previously prepared and tossed the meat laden stick into a corner near the beast, and it lunged at the offering, before devouring it ravenously.

"It likes it," Serra observed, before adding: "throw another one."

I retrieved another skewer and tossed the meat at the creature, and it quickly gobbled up the small offering.

"That's the last of it," I added nervously.

"Try casting speak with animals," she ordered, and I bit my lip in apprehension:

"I don't think that's supposed to work on monsters."

"Just do it," she commanded with a huff, and I rubbed my hands together, inhaling deeply.

"Speak with animals," I muttered, and a while light appeared at my hands before flickering out.

"Do you think you can speak to me like some common little pest?"

The deep, terrifying voice spoke directly into my mind, and as Serra gasped I assumed she'd heard it as well.

"Sorry- I didn't mean to offend you," I muttered, but Serra was already readying her hammer.

"What are these tasty meats?" the creature continued, keeping his glowing red eyes trained on Serra as he circled us menacingly.

As he walked, he sometimes faded from reality before reappearing.

"Wild meat- slow roasted over an open flame," I responded, and he gave a little low growl in response.

"If you want to live- then drop what you have, and leave before I finish eating."

"There's no more-" I started, and he advanced on me before I continued: "but I can make as much as you can eat-"

"- If you help us, that is," Serra cut in emphatically.

He faded from existence, before reappearing a little distance away, and resumed his terse pacing about us.

Up close I could see that his fur was thick and silvery; much more like a wolf's than like any dog I'd ever seen. But despite his monstrous size, standing just a head lower than my height on all fours, I noted that he didn't at all look as hellish as I'd first imagined when I'd first stared into his crimson red eyes.

"Ha. Help you, puny human? Maybe I'll just make do with a meal of your corpses instead."

Serra took a step forward to stand by my side.

"We're here to kill your master. You can help us in exchange for the meat, or die with him."

The blink dog faded again, before a bitter laugh echoed in our heads.

"My master? For centuries you foolish mortals have fallen before him. What makes you think you'll be any different?"

Serra slammed her hammer down, dangerously close, and the beast faded, before reappearing a little to her right with a snarl; but she didn't even flinch.

"Because we've killed worse," she replied confidently, and the blink dog faded away once more, before reappearing at a safer distance.

"Prove that you can make those meats, mortal, and I'll consider the request. But know this- I cannot directly intervene until that fiend is killed."

I glanced at Serra dubiously, trying to keep an eye on the hound.

"Do you have firewood?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Am I seriously cooking for this thing?" I asked dubiously, and she nudged me with a look that said 'play along or else.'

I set up a fire and was thankful to see that I had some meats left over from my hunting extravaganza with Kelly in the first week of the game.

I settled for rack of ribs that had come off of a golden stag; one of the games' rare wild game, seasoning it as Kelly had taught me, before roasting it on the spit.

The hound licked his lips hungrily as it roasted, and I quickly removed it from the flame before offering it to him reverently.

This seemed to please him, and as he ate it, he studied us with a thoughtful expression of guarded curiosity.

He finished up the offering, licking his lips contentedly, before letting down his guard just a bit.

"Very well humans- I'll take you to him," he uttered, walking down the corridor.

"Do we trust him? He might be scripted to deceive us," I offered, and Serra smiled.

"Never played anything without unscripted scenarios, have you?" she asked haughtily, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, as she continued: "Tabletop role-playing games?"

I shook my head:

"Never tried them," I responded, and she smiled.

"Well- neither have I. But I did read up on them extensively when I heard that Gary Wright was designing this games' mechanics with the ancestor of all modern RPGs in mind."

"Which is?"

"Dungeons and Dragons, numb nuts."

"Haven't heard of a Dragon in this game yet," I countered, and she chuckled.

"The mechanics is where the influence is strongest- immersion in most games is restricted by what the engine is capable of. To create something unlike any other game, Gary chose a system which was the most adaptable- and most like real life."

"So you're saying that this 'blink dog' isn't just some scripted scenario..."

"Exactly- he's doing what he wants right now. That's not to say that he may not want to deceive us, but... what do you know about blink dogs?"

I rubbed my head then gave a little shrug.

"Nothing," I conceded, and she continued on:

"They fall into the category of fey rather than fiend; they're typically found in the company of great mages and saints."

"So you're thinking that he's here against his will?"

"Yup. Depending on his backstory; he might have been corrupted, enslaved by the master vampire and forced to guard his lair."

"I see- so maybe he really wants to see his master killed," and she nodded in response.

We followed along for a bit, before we came to a wall, and as the hound circled the spot a bit, the wall shimmered out of view, revealing a hidden passage.

"This will take you to my master's chamber," the dog added, as he faded in and out of view once more.

"How many thralls does your master command?" she asked.

"Twelve," he responded, before adding: "If you spur my master into summoning them, I will intercede, so he will not be able to call for them through telepathy. But there is a lever on the balcony of the chamber's upper floor that allows him to release them; be wary if he goes for it."

The hound faded from existence once more, with a final echo: "Good luck."

"What's the plan?" I asked, as Serra had me enchant both of our weapons with temporary magical properties.

"Keep him grounded and silenced," she muttered in response, before taking a deep breath. "Josh- are you sure about this?" she asked? "This isn't like the lich. We don't know what it'll be like till the fight starts, but running might not be an option once it does."

I reached out and put my hand over hers before giving her a confident nod.

"I might suck, but I've got you. We can do it," I spoke the words with confidence, and she sighed:

"One night with 'little sis' and you think you can do anything huh?"

I grinned a little, and she took a deep breath before activating her silence ritual.

We stepped into the dark space that the blink dog had opened in the wall ahead of us, and after walking through a little tunnel, we came to a trapdoor which opened into a great, eerie court.

The entire room was bathed in a soft red light that gave it a wicked look, and a number of huge, test tube shaped glass objects were suspended in the air about it, with a thick red liquid that looked like blood floating about inside of them like liquid in a vacuum, forming bubble like blobs that sometimes broke into smaller pieces, before floating about to rejoin larger ones.

I was still marveling at the scene around me when Serra hit me a sharp nudge, bringing to my attention the figure that was sitting in a throne that stood upon a dais at the far end of the room, where the lower floor was connected to an upper balcony via two circular staircases which spiraled away from the throne to the upper levels of the great court.

His eyes were fixed on us and he smiled for just a moment, before vanishing from sight:

"Collapse," came the echoey voice that we were familiar with, and I leapt off the ground, Serra's hand in mine, just as the floor exploded beneath our feet.

"Josh, you need-!" She began, but I was already going:

"Illusion!" I called in a panic, creating a platform connected to the ground at our feet, which I immediately gave physical form and not a second too late as Serra pushed off of it, leaping to the side as she shoved me hard.

As I fell backwards, a spark took shape where we'd only just stood, and I braced as it exploded into a fiery ball of flame.

I landed hard, and coughed a bit as my head spun.

Serra had pushed me out of the way of the brunt of the damage, but I still felt somewhat singed and hurt from the force of the explosion.

With my rapier in hand, I tried to mark the vampire, but in a blink, he vanished again, and I swore under my breath.

Shadow step; he could vanish and appear at will at any point that was shadowed.

"Light of Helios," Serra shouted, the sigil around her neck raised high over her head, and a great bright of light immediately illuminated the chamber.

He appeared out of shadows near to the left of the hall and Serra and I charged at him from opposite ends.

He summoned a great shield which parried Serra's first strike before easily evading my thrust, but I pressed the attack, forcing him to focus on evading my onslaught.

"Smite!" Serra cried, as her hammer came crashing down on him with a mighty blow which broke through his shield and made him totter backwards a few steps, and the vampire let out a great shriek, just as he transformed into a bat and began flying off towards the upper balcony.

I placed a hand on Serra's shoulder to transfer the mark to her through synergy, and she tried to fire her lightning shackles at the vampire in bat form- but he made a small target, nimbly dodging out of the way of her attacks.

"Shit! Josh-"

"On it," I muttered, as I dashed across the room to get closer to him, before casting: "Elemental conversion: air to steam!"

A 'shh-ing' sound echoed across the room as a big cloud of steam went up about the bat, and he beat his wings furiously, trying to keep flight as my spell thinned and lightened the air.

"Brilliant strike!" Serra called, and this time the spell struck, and the bat tottered a bit in midair before he went spiraling down.

He continued to beat his wings furiously, but in vain, as the moisture from the steam weighed down his wings, impeding his ability to fly.

He transformed back into his humanoid form as he neared the floor, then with a snap of his fingers a sphere of darkness took form about him.

I see you, I thought to myself with a smirk, and as Serra shot me a suggestive nod, she charged blindly into the midst of the void.

I took off on an interceptive course, and as I ran into her, we were in perfect sync; I grasped her by the back of her robes and spun on my heels, activating synergy as I swung her in an arc to build on her momentum.

"Catapult," I chanted, as I released her.

The spell propelled her with immense force, and thanks to the improved aim that mark afforded me she went flying directly to the master vampire, who quickly called up a protective shield just as Serra crashed into him with a mighty swing.

"Smite!" she yelled, and as her hammer broke the shield to pieces, and the very floor about him exploded into a shattered mess of wood and stone.

Her blow sent him flying across the room, crashing hard into one of the chamber's pillars which all but shattered on impact.

He clambered shakily to his feet, bits of stone from the pillar he'd slammed into falling about him, and I took Serra's hand as we charged directly at him.

As I activated synergy, I reaffirmed my grip on her hand, and she shot me a curious glance as we were poised to strike, but as our combined blows came down, a curious impulse took me, and I chanted "smite" in unision with Serra.

Serra gasped in surprise as my rapier glowed white, and as it pierced the vampire's chest, her hammer struck him in the ribs, and he let out a final bloodcurdling scream as his body began imploding, before bursting into a crimson flame which quickly consumed itself, leaving a scattered pile of ashen remains before us.

"Since when can you activate smite through me?" Serra asked, and I shrugged, shooting her a haughty smirk.

"Am I still your idiot noob apprentice?" I asked, and she grabbed me by the collar, and pulled me threateningly close to her face, before breaking into a grin.

"You'll always be a noob, Joshie," she countered, her hands softening about my robe as her grin simmered into a smile.

As the silence of our battle's aftermath sunk in, I became all at once aware of how close our faces were, but as I moved to withdraw she held me.

"Josh- we make a good team," she whispered, a hint of something in her voice that I couldn't place and a strange glossy look in her eyes.

She began to lean into me, but as I lifted my hand to stop her, the blink dog suddenly materialized into the space beside us, his voice speaking into our heads:

"I have to say- that was impressive. I never dreamed that fiend could be dispatched with such ease."

Serra jumped away from me, suddenly focused on straightening out her robes and I studied her with a wary smile.

As we set about gathering whatever valuables we could from the room, I noted that the hound's attitude towards me seemed to have significantly improved.

While Serra carefully retrieved the prized invitation from the vampire's remains, our new companion led me to a little room off of the main hall where the vampire had kept some of his most prized possessions; some pretty neat looking magical items, and other items of considerable value.

I returned to the hall, eager to share the find with Serra, when suddenly a deep growl came from the blink dog, and Serra pulled out her hammer, her gaze fixed on the balcony above us.

I followed her gaze as a curious figure emerged from the darkness; her form noticeably feminine despite her was face being obscured by the hood of her robe.

I gulped nervously as I noticed the lever in front of her; the one that the master vampire had tried to get to in our battle.

"What do you want?" Serra called, and the woman smiled.

"Your deaths," she whispered wickedly as she flipped the lever, and as the blink dog vanished and appeared at her side with a lunge, she leapt from the balcony into the open space above us, and I blinked in disbelief as she suddenly vanished into thin air.

"Can you sense her?" Serra asked, as the blink dog reappeared at my side.

"No- she's concealed herself with magic" he responded, before sniffing the air thoughtfully. "You have to run. The thralls have been released."

We quickly followed the hound as he led us away from the court to a path where we might best be able to make our escape.

"Stop," the hound interrupted, sniffing the air as we approached an intersection in the narrow corridor.

"Where are they coming from?" Serra asked, and he turned towards the corridor to our right, where the hallway led to stairway from a lower floor.

"Can we feather fall from the top of the castle?" I asked, and Serra shook her head.

"With the anti-magic field around the castle I don't want to chance it, and even if we did get out, they'll most likely follow us- and we'll never outrun them."

Serra took a look around before grabbing my hand and pulling me to the stairwell.

"Can you stall them?" Serra asked the blink dog, and he bowed as he responded:

"Yes," before fading away into nothingness.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, and she bit her lip nervously.

"I think it's time for that new spell of yours," she muttered softly, and I gulped.

***

My new spell; astral imprisonment, was one which could trap the thralls in a dimensional barrier, but it would quickly consume my magic, making the imprisonment temporary. Serra's plan was to trap them all in the stairwell, before using her daylight spell to slowly wither away their health, then finish them off with physical combat.

She was hurriedly preparing a ritual circle at the top of the staircase as I sliced my way through a pillar, and piled the stone across the entryway.

"Are you sure this will work?" I asked.

A loud crashing sound came echoing down to us from somewhere far off in the castle, and I hurriedly continued my work.

"No time to make sure. Those thralls might not be able to cast spells like their master, but they're just as tough and hit even harder. Come on- we need to funnel them in from the lower levels."

We went down one level, and I studied Serra as she struggled to push over a shelf to make a barricade across the corridor.

"Why aren't you using your magic?"

"Ugh," she grunted, as she struggled with the shelf. "Because I'll need it," she responded blankly, and I studied her with trepidation.

"For what? Your light spell doesn't cost that much," I countered, and she glared at me in response.

"I might need to fight, moron. Now less talking, more barricading."

We worked our way down the stairwell, but as we finished blocking off the third floor, a howl came at us from above, and I looked up to see a vampire, a crazed look in his glowing red eyes as he stared at us with bloodthirsty intent.

"Shit- we need to knock him down," Serra muttered, and we began to climb the wide spiral stairs in an attempt to meet him as high up as possible.

We met him somewhere around the sixth floor, and Serra took my hand and gave me a little nod.

"Smite," I chanted as I lunged forward, but my rapier didn't glow this time and the beast grasped my blade in his hand, yanking me from Serra's grasp and sending me hurtling into the far wall.

I looked to her to cast shackles or something, but instead, she tried to spin out of the way of another slash, and she cried out in pain as the claws tore across her chest. But she didn't hesitate for even a second before responding to the blow; raising her hammer and striking him in the chest, and following up the hit by leaping at him, and kicking out with her legs, knocking him over the balcony to the floor below.

"Elemental conversion," I chanted, as the thrall transformed into a bat, and I watched as it spiraled down before returning to its humanoid form at the bottom of the stairs.

As I stared down over the balcony, the thrall let out another bloodcurdling cry, and two more thralls entered to meet him.