Yvvaros: The Clash of Worlds (10 page)

A Dunidan rumbled nearby. Luke ignored it. He was at a high enough level now that unless he ran into one of the rare, champion class Dunidan, most of them wouldn’t risk attacking him and facing certain death.

This is one element of the game that I can really appreciate, now that permadeath is on.

It wouldn’t always be on, however. If Kaoru’s plan went as it should, they would gain control of the in-game world after transferring it to a new server. They could decide what the rules were, and turn Yvvaros back into what it was before, or if the players decided, they could even make it into something else.

It’s a lot of power for one person to have, now that I think about it. To the people that have gone all in, it’s like becoming a god.

Luke was distracted by his thoughts and didn’t notice that he had begun to enter the mudflats. He pulled out of his reverie only as his feet began to sink into the viscous ooze, forcing him to walk more slowly.

“Whoops…”

The surface of the mudflats was cracked and divided into hundreds of tiny sections. The moisture underneath came from Yvvaros’s tides. The whole area was low enough to end up covered by the high tide when the two moons aligned just right in the sky.

Luke took a couple of muddy steps over to one of the sections that was a little drier than the rest. He then reached into his satchel and pulled out a small cloth bag.

Clay was collected in bundles in Yvvaros. Luke reached down and began searching for some, digging deep into the mud to unearth the useful clay at the bottom. His arm was pulled in by the mud, held by the surprisingly strong suction of the sludge.

This is going to be messy…

Mining the clay was slow and tedious work. Luke had to lie flat on his stomach to get his arm deep enough to reach it. The mud flats bubbled all around him, and he could smell sulfur in the air.

Suddenly, a rumble came from a thicker section of mud behind him. Luke’s arm was trapped in the mud, and he could only crane his neck around to get a look at what was going on.

LIVE EARTH: One of the corrupted monsters created during the Severence Onslaught. Grows to more than ten feet tall, and absorbs defeated enemies into itself. It’s rumored to be part of the reason behind the name “Farswick’s Folly.”

The creature was a huge, hulking, humanoid mass of mud. It took slow steps, but it didn’t need to move fast. Luke struggled to pull his arm out of the mud, and by the time he’d managed to, it had already closed half of the distance between them.

Jesus…

Protruding from the Live Earth were arms, heads, and legs of bodies it had absorbed. The top half of a torso poked out from where the monster’s head should have been, giving the appearance of a person piloting the oozing mass.

Luke pulled out his sword and took a step back.

CONJURE SWORD 3

His three magical blades materialized, and Luke tested his opponent by launching them forward like throwing spears. Each of the three slammed into the Live Earth’s chest without the slightest bit of resistance. Almost no damage was done.

Okay, maybe I need to take another approach.

Luke slowly danced to the side, waiting for the monster to launch an attack of its own. It slowly lifted one of its massive, tree trunk-sized arms, and propelled it down toward Luke with a surprising amount of speed.

He dodged out of the way with ease, but the strike did something that he hadn’t been expecting. A wave of mud shot up from the ground, splashing forward before Luke could move out of the way. He managed to cover his face, but the wave was powerful enough to knock him backward, into the deep mud.

Damn it!

Luke was up to his waist in the muck and sinking fast. His chest and hair were already coated with sludge. The feeling of the mud sliding underneath his armor did not make him eager to find out what would happen once his head went under.

This is how it kills. It just knocks players into the mud and lets them sink.

The Live Earth was still approaching. Luke gripped his sword tightly and waited for it to step back within range. It moved slowly, and by the time it was close enough for him to make a move, his head was slipping under. For a single sickening moment, Luke submerged and was forced to close his mouth as the muck came up over it.

ELEMENTAL INFUSION: ICE

PIERCE ATTACK 3

Luke’s combat skill carried him up and out of the quagmire in a single, liberating movement. He flew through the air with his mud covered sword leading the way, the moisture in the air around it turning white as it froze.

His first strike was on the Live Earth’s shoulder, and the cold from his infusion made the cut count in a way the conjured blades had been unable to. Luke landed carefully on the other side of the monster and immediately charged back as it slowly began to turn.

He struck at its legs with several furious strikes. One of the Live Earth’s feet froze completely from the ankle down. A decomposing human head poked out from the creature’s calf, the empty eye sockets looked as if they were staring at Luke.

CONJURE SWORD 3

ELEMENTAL INFUSION: ICE

With all of his blades infused with ice, Luke was able to quickly dismantle it. He hacked into it again, and again, chopping his way up the Live Earth’s other leg, shattering the frozen segments as he went.

Soon the monster fell onto its back, and Luke attacked its torso until its health bar reached zero. The mud that composed it began to melt as he struck the final blow, leaving a score of half-digested corpses behind.

LEVEL 17 ATTAINED

HOLY REGENERATION OBTAINED

Luke smiled, and went back to collecting clay.

CHAPTER 10

Luke was coated with mud from head to toe as he made his way back to Dunidan’s Rest. A an arid breeze was blowing across the Sarchia Desert. It was dry and hot enough to sap the heat from the mud, gluing it to his body.

He pushed his way through the gates leaving it open behind him in his hurry to get to the oasis. Anna was working a slab of steel at her smith, and there was a pause in her rhythm as Luke came into view.

“Jesus, what happened to you?” Tess walked toward him, her face a mixture of concern and bemusement.

“Farswick’s Folly,” said Luke. “Farswick’s fucking Folly. Remind me never to go there again.”

“Here, come on.” She took him by the hand and led him over to the oasis. Luke leaned over to dip his hands in, and Tess pushed him into the water.

“You’re going to need to take a bath if you want to get clean,” she laughed.

“You could have let me walk in on my own,” said Luke. He cleaned mud from his eyes as it softened and sluiced down his face.

The oasis was cool and refreshing. The underground spring that fueled it was in a state of constant renewal, and Luke didn’t need to be concerned about polluting it with the muck that clung to him.

“Here, I think you’re going to need some help.” Tess shrugged off her priestess cloak, boots, and armor and slowly began stepping into the water after him. She wore only the conservative undergarments that every character in Yvvaros was equipped with by default, and the water immediately slicked them to her body.

Ben mentioned that even those can be taken off… The game was rated M on release, after all.

He pushed the thought out of his head as Tess splashed water in his face.

“You’re going to have to take your armor off, too,” she said. “It’s going to need a washing of its own.”

Luke slipped out of his hardened Dunidan skin armor and tossed it onto the crabgrass next to the oasis. Tess giggled and splashed him again, until he retaliated with splashes of his own.

“You’re wasting water! In the desert! I think you need to learn a lesson.” Luke sunk underneath the surface of the oasis and swam toward Tess. He came up right next to her and pulled her under.

“No! You brat!” Tess was laughing and shoving him away playfully.

I want this moment to last forever…

“It looks like the two of you are putting that water to good use.” Kaoru was walking toward them from over by the guild hall. Luke rubbed a bit more mud out of his hair and turned to face him.

“Hey,” he said. “When did you log back in?”

“Just now.” Kaoru crouched low next to the water, his black cloak trailing behind him on the ground. “Is Silverstrike around? We need to get started.”

“He’s finishing up a quest in Stark Town,” said Tess. She looked over at Luke, and he could see something in her eyes.

She’s nervous…

“Alright, I’ll get him up to speed after, then,” said Kaoru. He sighed, and then ran one of his hands through his hair. Luke waded out of the water, dunking himself one last time to rinse himself off. He quickly rinsed his armor before pulling it back on.

“The Elemental Wells,” said Luke. “That’s what my part in this plan is going to be, right?”

Kaoru smiled at Luke and furrowed his brow.

“That’s part of it,” said Kaoru. “You’re the Hero of Kantor, and having your name aligned with The Consulate is going to help with Silverstrike’s guild negotiations. You also need to handle things with your father in the real world.”

How did this all end up on me?

“I get it. I have a pretty serious role to play.” Luke held one of his arms out as he pulled on a bracer.

“The Elemental Wells, as I mentioned yesterday, are three points of power scattered throughout Yvvaros.” Kaoru pulled out his map, as he had the day before, and began smoothing out the wrinkles. “There’s one at Shahidi’s Vengenace, one at the Ancestor Glacier, and one deep within the Caves of Exton.”

“How am I just hearing about them now?” asked Luke. “You’d think that another player or another guild would have claimed them by now.”

“They’ve always been there, but the World Event they’re related to wasn’t activated until after the Battle of Kantor. With permadeath on, most players have been… unwilling to take the risks required to explore.”

“Well, that’s certainly reassuring.” Luke scratched his head. “Why do we need to reach them? What are they going to do for us?”

“Have you ever heard of Makorin, Luke?” asked Kaoru. “The second flying city?”

A second flying city?

Luke shook his head.

“Makorin is a claimable city, unlike Kantor. It only comes into existence once a single guild or alliance has taken control of all three Elemental Wells.” Kaoru began tapping on the points on the map, slowly tracing routes out to each of them.

“That’s your plan, then?” asked Luke. “We get Makorin, and then…?”

“The plan, as I described it to you last night, has one fatal flaw that having Makorin will address.” Kaoru smiled. “We can’t take control of the continent without taking control of Kantor, regardless of how many Arbiters we kill.”

“So why don’t we just use the-”

“The rune circle?” Kaoru shook his head. “Think about it. That’s the only way to and from Kantor. You might have been able to launch an assault against the Tymian offensive by using it, but the Arbiters have had more than a week to build up their defenses around it. There’s no way we could get enough players up there in a short enough amount of time to stand a chance.”

Luke nodded.

“Alright, that makes sense,” he said. “So once we have the city, we load it up with players, and then… what, dock with Kantor?”

Kaoru smiled.

“Not exactly,” he said. “Once we have Makorin, we’re going to crash it into Kantor and bring both down to the ground.”

“Will that even work?”

“Yes.”

There wasn’t a trace of doubt in Kaoru’s voice. Luke watched him carefully, trying to determine from his expression whether or not his sanity was still intact.

“Kaoru, do you realize what you’re suggesting?” Luke rubbed his fingers against his temples. “Even if it would work, which is a huge if, Kantor is full of people.”

“It’s full of NPCs and Arbiters,” said Kaoru. “And maybe a few players that have gone all in and been captured.”

Luke glanced over at Tess, desperate for backup. She was looking away from them, as though she wanted no part in the conversation.

“My suggestion would work just as well,” said Luke. “We take an army up, and liberate the city.”

“Your suggestion is risky,” said Kaoru. “We have no idea just how many Arbiters are up there. We’d be attacking blindly.”

Luke sighed and shook his head.

“Look, all of this is still theoretical until we claim the Elemental Wells,” said Luke. “After I’ve done that, we can finish this discussion.”

Makorin will be under my control once that happens. I’ll have the final say.

Kaoru nodded slowly. From the expression on his face, Luke could tell that they were both thinking the same thing.

“So be it,” he said. “I need your help for this plan to have any chance of succeeding, Kato. I will not take your effort and input for granted.”

Kaoru reached inside his satchel and pulled something out. He took Luke’s hand and closed it around the bag.

“This is… gold?” Luke raised an eyebrow.

“10,000 gold, to be exact,” said Kaoru. “Use it to buy an equipment upgrade for yourself and Tess.”

“10,000 gold?” Luke was stunned.

That’s more gold than I could earn in a month of questing.

Kaoru just smiled.

“I’m committed to this plan, Kato,” he said. “I want you to be committed to it, too.”

Luke stared at him for a moment, and then slowly nodded. He walked over to Tess, who was watching him with a matching look of bewilderment.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go shopping.”

Luke and Tess left Dunidan’s Rest through the gate and headed north across the Sarchia Desert. Tess skipped along lightly, not at all like someone about to embark on a dangerous, life threatening quest.

“This is amazing, Luke!” She looped her arm through his. “10,000 gold? That’s an unbelievable amount of money.”