Yvvaros: The Clash of Worlds (24 page)

“Come on, Luke!” yelled Tess. He shook his head and unsheathed his sword.

“I have to cover your retreat, Tess,” said Luke. “Swim to the other side and cover the others as they come ashore.”

He was lying to her. Luke wasn’t interested in covering anyone’s retreat. He was interested in revenge. Anna’s death was fresh in his mind. He recalled her body lying limply in the sand as Katrina mourned. Even the deaths of Marina and Shahidi, though they’d been slain by his own hand, also seemed to be somehow directly attributable to the Arbiters.

CONJURE SWORD 3

MIRROR IMAGE 3

HOLY REGENERATION 2

With all of his passive combat skills activated, Luke strode back into the guild hall. Many of the guild leaders had already fled into the ocean, but a few held the door. Luke could see by their body language that their resolve matched his own.

They’ve lost people, too. The Arbiters have fucked us all over, and now it’s time for revenge.

“Kato!” Silverstrike grabbed his wrist and tried to pull him away. “We need to leave!”

“I’ll catch up with you,” said Luke. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Silverstrike saw something in his eyes and backed away. Despite the gravity of the situation, Luke realized that he was smiling.

If they want me to be their hero, so be it. I may not have Silverstrike’s silver tongue, but I can fight the Arbiters. I have to fight them.

Luke took a deep breath and nudged the player standing in front of the door aside. One of the Arbiters was only feet away from the entrance. Luke ran out of the door at a diagonal, letting his mirrored images absorb the arrows fired from the Arbiters as he moved forward.

PIERCE ATTACK 3

Luke launched at the Arbiter leading the rush. It pressed its spear forward, but Luke saw it coming and leaned his shoulder back just in time to let the spear graze by the outside of his armor. Luke countered with a stab directly at the Arbiter. He only managed to dent its armor as his blade smashed against the breastplate. The Arbiter lost only a small amount of health.

Luke twisted and attacked again, swinging his blade in an off side arc and letting his three conjured swords fly forward to defend his back. The Arbiter ducked, but the magical blades connected with his neck. The damage wasn’t enough to kill him, but Luke noticed with satisfaction that his health bar took a significant dip.

Two more Arbiters arrived to bolster their comrade’s flanks. Luke leapt back. Immediately a group of guild leaders took his place.

Luke looked out on the fighting. He could see the Head Arbiter across the battlefield. It stood still, watching and waiting.

To the right, he saw the eruption of a red spell burst from the door of the guildhall. It struck a group of Arbiters, knocking a couple of them off their feet.

Luke sprang into action, dropping into a crouch and pushing forward. He blocked an attack and countered with one of his own as he pushed through the frontline of Arbiters.

Silverstrike shouted to him from the water’s edge, but Luke was too far away to make out what he was saying. From the bridge, the Head Arbiter signaled with a hand to his troops on the mainland. They began to spread out along the shore.

They’re going to attack anyone that tries to swim ashore! I can’t let that happen!

Luke ran toward the bridge. The Head Arbiter stood at the edge. Luke dropped into a roll, feeling the rough wood beneath him as he moved across the planks. He carried his momentum forward as he vaulted to his feet, swinging his sword at the Head Arbiter.

It brought up its spear and blocked Luke’s assault easily. Their weapons clashed together, fused in battle.

Damn it, he’s fast. I just need to catch him-

Luke was slow on a counter, and the Head Arbiter pushed him back with the shaft of his spear. The jolt knocked him off balance for a second, and his opponent whipped the spear tip forward, catching him in the shoulder.

The pain was sharp and immediate. Surprisingly, instead of pushing forward, the Head Arbiter immediately pulled back. He looked from side to side, checking the progress of his troops as they moved to apprehend the guild leaders swimming up on the beach. Then, he looked back at Luke.

Those eyes… He hates me, but why isn’t he attacking?

Luke crouched low and gripped his sword in front of him with both hands.

PIERCE ATTACK 3

The Head Arbiter didn’t dodge the attack. Luke’s sword smashed into its breast plate but the armor held without even a scratch. A split second later, Luke attacked with his conjured swords, but again, the Head Arbiter let the strikes hit him without even flinching.

“Luke!” Tess called to him from the water. She was climbing up onto the rocky shore. An Arbiter was quickly closing in on her.

Luke feigned an attack, a ploy to slip by. It was only then that his opponent really began to strike back. Three blows rained down in rapid fire succession. Instantly his health bar emptied.

What? Three attacks, and I’m dead…

He fell to the ground in a crumpled heap as his health zeroed out. Almost immediately, a spell hit him, restoring a sliver of his health and bringing him back from the brink.

Tess!

He was expecting the Head Arbiter to run him through with its spear, but it hesitated.  Luke seized the moment and rolled to his feet.

He’s arrogant, and I can take advantage of that.

Luke pulled his conjured swords to him. Instead of using them to attack his enemies, he set them in motion around himself, creating a whirlwind shield of razor sharp blades.  With the blurring cyclone of steel protecting him, he began to run.

An Arbiter was leaning over Tess, preparing to land a finishing blow. Luke launched himself from the bridge, flying straight at it. His conjured swords struck the Arbiter before his physical sword did, doing enough damage to distract it.

“Run, Tess!” yelled Luke. “I’ll meet you on the way!”

Tess caught his eye and nodded. She knew where they would meet. Dunidan’s Rest would be too dangerous, and now that the Arbiters had discovered their meeting, Luke wasn’t sure what was going to happen next.

The plan can still work, we just need to get out of here!

The Arbiter that had been attacking Tess turned and struck at Luke. He parried, and then feigned with the blade in his hand, just as his conjured swords struck its target. The blow wasn’t enough to kill the Arbiter, but it was a start.

Something smashed into Luke’s head. He turned as he fell forward and saw the Head Arbiter behind him, holding its spear in a reverse grip. Follow up attacks came from both the front and back, forcing Luke to fight against both Arbiters at once. Only by using all of his swords to block their attacks was he able to keep from being killed a second time.

A spell collided with the bridge nearby, knocking the Arbiters back and tossing Luke into the air. He flipped through the air, eventually landing in a painful crash on his knees. Arex sprinted off the bridge and onto land, holding his staff out in front of him.

Arex?

The Red Mage launched off another spell. A fireball shot out from his quarter staff and struck the wood of the bridge, splashing flames onto the planks and Arbiters. Luke rose to his feet and caught Arex’s stride as he ran past. The two ran toward the other players on the beach.

“Why?” yelled Luke, unable to contain his confusion.

“I have to escape, too,” said Arex.

Luke made a beeline for Tess, who was busy casting healing spells on players still in combat. He grabbed her hand and pulled her off into the desert, not stopping to look back.

“Cast Haste!” yelled Luke.

Tess didn’t argue. She sped through her chant, and a glowing light descended on both of them. Luke and Tess sped forward, putting as much distance as they could between themselves and the battle.

CHAPTER 26 

They didn’t stop running until the battle was far behind them. Luke scanned the horizon, looking for signs that they’d been pursued. When he was confident they hadn’t been trailed, he turned to Tess.

“What just happened?” she asked. “Did somebody in the meeting sell everyone out?”

Luke frowned and shook his head.

“I don’t know…”

“Arex was there,” said Tess. “Maybe this whole thing was just a revenge scheme on his part…”

Luke thought back to his hurried escape, and the spell that had saved his life.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “If this was betrayal on the part of one of the guild leaders, than they were risking their own life to do it.”

“Did Silverstrike make it out okay?”

Luke opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, a blinking red message icon appeared in the corner of his vision. He hoped that it would have an answer to Tess’s question.

Kato,

I don’t know what happened. I’m safe, hiding out in Stark Town. The other guild leaders heard my message, and as Machiavellian as it may sound, the Arbiter attack reinforced it perfectly. I will reestablish contact and keep moving things forward. You need to handle things at the last Elemental Well.

Silverstrike

“He’s okay,” said Luke. Tess breathed a sigh of relief.

“I don’t understand any of this,” said Tess. “They didn’t say anything to us. No warnings, nothing. Do they just want to make the players afraid?”

Luke stared off into the horizon.

“I don’t know, Tess. But we’re going to put a stop to it.”

They continued walking south. The Sarchia Desert felt more ominous than usual, as though a dark presence was looming over it. The sky was even more overcast than it had been before, making the desert air unusually cold.

Luke spotted the Caves of Exton after they’d been traveling for about an hour. From a distance, they looked like tiny black eyes, peering out of the dunes. They made Luke feel as though the desert was a sentient organism. Luke and Tess slowed as they drew near.

“We should stop to eat some food first, Luke,” said Tess. “Who knows what we’re going to find in there…”

Luke nodded. Tess pulled some fruit and vegetables from the garden back in Dunidan’s Rest out of her bag and passed them to him.

“This is it,” said Luke. “After we claim this Elemental Well, the plan is going be in its final stage.”

Tess smiled, but Luke could tell that it was forced. She looked down at her food and then back at him.

“We haven’t heard from Kaoru in a while.” She frowned. “He was undercover with the Arbiters. Do you think they might have…?”

Luke shook his head.

“No,” he said. “That’s probably why we haven’t heard from him. He’s fully committed to this cause.”

Luke bit into one of the fruits, its purple flesh reminded him of a plum. He didn’t pay any attention to the flavor.

“What do you think we’re going to find inside?”

Claiming the other Elemental Wells hasn’t been straightforward. There’s always been some kind of test, a choice for us to make.

“I don’t know,” said Luke. “Come on, we don’t have any time to waste.”

He wiped fruit juice from his hands onto his legs and started toward the caves. As they drew closer, he could hear a faint wind whistling across the opening, creating ominous, musical tones on the air.

QUEST: The Caves of Exton

“Luke, it won’t let me go any further!” Tess was behind him, standing still. Luke watched as she lifted her foot and tried to step in closer toward the caves, only to have it bounce off against an invisible barrier in front of her.

“That’s weird,” said Luke. He took another step, confirming that he could still push on ahead.

“I don’t know if it’s such a good idea for you to face this alone,” said Tess. Luke shrugged.

“It doesn’t look like we have any other choice. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. Try to stay out of sight in case any patrols of Arbiters go by.”

Tess frowned, but nodded slowly.

“If it takes you longer than a few hours, please come back and check in, Luke.”

“I will,” he said. “Don’t worry.”

Easier said than done.

Luke turned and assessed the nearest cave entrance. It was tall enough for him to walk through without having to crouch down, but not by much. He walked slowly, his eyes straining to adjust to the pitch blackness inside.

“Don’t get yourself killed!” Tess’s voice echoed behind him. “Please… be careful, Luke.”

“I’ll be fine.”

He took another step forward, and then another. Luke couldn’t see much more than the faint outlines of the cave walls on either side of him, but he could feel the ground sloping down underneath him.

The passage continued as a straight slant downward for a couple hundred meters. The air began to smell and taste stale. The entrance was only a tiny pinprick of light behind him. He felt a brief flash of fear pass over him as the passage curved and he lost sight of the way out.

Luke pulled out his sword and held it in front of him.

ELEMENTAL INFUSION: FIRE

The flames turned his sword into a makeshift torch. Light flickered over the cracks and crevices of the cave, making the walls around him dance as though they’d come alive. Luke took a deep breath and kept moving.

I haven’t run into any enemies yet. Even outside the cave, there weren’t any.

He walked for a while longer. He wasn’t sure exactly how long. The cave twisted and turned. It almost felt like it was twisting in circles. Luke fought the urge to speed forward.

A couple of boulders were piled on the ground ahead of him. Stalactites hung from the roof of the cave. Together, the rock features made it look like he was stepping into a giant, gaping mouth. He gripped his sword a little tighter and pulled himself through.

The passageway opened up into a large circular cavern, and there was someone standing at the center of it.

Luke stopped and tried to angle his flaming sword so that it would shine light onto the figure, but the shadows clung to it like a cloak.