Neck-Deep In It: A LitRPG and GameLit Series. Page 18

  In return, the Matriarch communicated the Dread Herd’s needs. Like an ambassador discussing the needs of her people, the Dreadmare expressed her desire to fight against their hated enemy, but at the same time, to not have the lives of the herd uselessly thrown away. This was something Orion understood on an almost instinctual level from his time of being a Marine as he did his best to explain how they might work this out.

  What surprised him most was that, even though her species was on the edge of extinction, the Matriarch insisted that she wanted individuals within the herd to go out with their allies on quests to gain experience and levels. This was something that was going to take some work to balance out, Orion silently thought, as he shared images of select members of the Dread Herd participating in the raid to help them slow down the advancing Hobgoblins. Later, he mentally promised, they could work out the specifics when Startum Ironwolf, the leader of BrokenFang Hold, returned on how that would work on a regular basis. Though, he figured it would probably work similarly to those players that teamed up with the various Centaurs in the alliance.

  That point brought a flurry of new images that Orion had to answer. Questions of who he and Startum Ironwolf were within the alliance. How was a lower-level player like him who casually played The World supposed to answer questions like that? Some of the concepts were too difficult for either of them to comprehend, while others were more easily explained. Such as, what decisions did the leader of the House of Kayden make for the various races and newfar under his banner? Orion did his best to keep the focus on the concepts they could understand and agree upon, leaving the rest for Startum to deal with once he returned.

  The last interesting point that the Matriarch brought up was the need to come to terms with access to the resources of the Sulfuric Springs. Orion had never considered that a monster species would even understand the concept of land ownership or might need the actual resources within The World. After a bit of time bouncing images back and forth between one another, two things became clear. One was that the Matriarch considered the Sulfuric Springs to be part of her territory boundaries. The second was that the Dread Herd actually used the location to collect the mana accumulation crystals that they needed for some aspect of their development.

  At first, Orion was for sure this was going to nix whatever deal that the two of them could possibly have been able to make. Throughout history, the access to needed but limited resources had repeatedly been a point of contention that made people go to war with one another. How would this be any different between their two species? The alliance needed the mana accumulation crystals to have any hope of fighting the Hobgoblins, besides the help it would give in expanding their power base. The Dread Herd needed it for their survival.

  Nonetheless, Orion didn’t give up. While the concept was odd, he slowly began to realize that the Dread Herd needed to consume small amounts of the crystals after they’d been finely ground up. Though he still didn’t fully understand why, what he did understand was that the process for the herd to grind up the crystals into fine powder was extremely difficult and time consuming. Orion couldn’t begin to describe the relief that flooded through him when the Matriarch accepted his offer that the alliance would grind up whatever amount of crystals that the herd needed for free access to all the resources within the Sulfuric Springs.

  It might sound like to some that Orion was cheating the natives out of their natural resources by not paying fair market value for everything they were giving up but in truth, that was far from the case. Communicating mind-to-mind via empathy didn’t allow for such deceptions. That, and the Dread Herd was getting what they wanted. Besides the result was much better than the course these things usually took throughout history. Such as, the Dread Herd was getting easy access to the processed resources that they wanted without being slaughtered or enslaved, the future of their race would be tied to that of the alliance, and he’d promised the Matriarch that Startum would work out a payment method for the other resources they mined from the Sulfuric Springs. Such as, access to enchanted items, armor, or even accounts for money that individual herd members could use for purchasing things that they wanted or needed within the BrokenFang Hold markets or possibly even wider. While Orion didn’t have any idea how exactly that would truly work out, he figured that would be Startum’s problem to solve with the Matriarch.

  As their discussion came to an end and the alliance was agreed upon, Orion was shocked to discover that his entire body was entwined in the Matriarch’s antennas when he opened his eyes. The articulated hair-like strands were so thickly woven around his body that he was literally being held aloft in the air. With surprising ease, the Dreadmare gently set him down on his two feet as multiple system windows popped open before his eyes.

  Congratulations! You have successfully completed the Secret Quest Tamer of the Wild I. You have gained 1000 Experience Points. You have gained 200 points to your Reputation with all members of the Dread Herd. You have gained the title of Tribal Ambassador. The House of Kayden has gained access to the Sulfuric Spring resources that are claimed by the Clan of Terror as long as the agreed upon terms are followed. The Clan Leader of the House of Kayden now has the option of purchasing additional Dreadstallions and Dreadmares from within the NPC Recruiter. The Clan of Terror will be gifted with the ability to speak Common upon meeting with Overlord Startum Ironwolf as long as the Helm of Inaxidor is still within his possession.

  Congratulations! You have reached Level 29!

  Congratulations! You have reached Level 30!

  For a long second, Orion could only goggle at the notifications as he completely read through the information displayed in his HUD. While he was thrilled with the new levels, the title of Tribal Ambassador was what most caught his eye. That, and the various benefits that the Matriarch had gained for the Clan of Terror.

  An interesting name, to say the least, Orion thought with an amused smirk. Though, as the last of the strands unwove themselves from around his body, a curious thought began percolating through the back of his mind. Looking into the Matriarch’s regal face, he began to think that maybe their agreement wasn’t as one-sided as he had initially thought.

  As if she were reading his thoughts, the Dreadmare let out a hissing laugh that would’ve sent shivers of terror down his spine if they weren’t now officially allies. Though, in that moment, Orion realized that he’d completely misjudged the intelligence of the monster standing before him. Not that he could really complain since it was a win-win for both of them. Nonetheless, he’d have to keep that in the back of his mind whenever dealing with the Matriarch in the future.

  “Now, it’s time we decided how we’re going to get our people working together,” Orion said out loud, as he reached up to clap the Dreadmare on her powerful shoulder.

  Chapter Ten

  (Ashley Duchenson and the Devil Dogs & Valkyrie Guilds on the Sulfur Plateau in the Plains of Atoll.)

  “AOE incoming!” Ashley warned as Viletooth the Bloated opened its mouth wide and expelled a cloud of noxious fumes.

  Instantly, everything in a ten-yard-radius around the level 45 Elite Corrupt Spiked Beast Mini-Boss was covered in a choking sulfuric cloud. Even holding her breath, Ashley started taking damage as the foul poison burned her eyes and exposed skin. Ignoring the pain, her voice hardened as she addressed the raid, “All Priests cast Minor Dispel while Melee classes attack.”

  Clenching her jaw closed, Ashley ignored the burning in her throat as she followed her own orders. Clenching her sword and shield tight, she chained the Warrior abilities Charge and Shield Bash together into a blur of movement as her body surged forward. She barely saw the Mini-Boss lower its head to deflect her attacks as the Iron-Reinforced bronze shield held before her clanged off the beast’s dual hardened stone spikes. Ignoring the shooting pain coming from her shield arm, she followed up the useless Shield Bash with a perfectly executed lunge as the golden sparkles of multiple Minor Dispels lit up the area around Viletooth the Bloated li
ke a light show at a rock concert.

  “Gah!” Ashley screamed out in frustration, as her long sword skip off the Mini-Boss’s heavy eye ridge without doing any damage, “I can’t pierce its damn hide!”

  Stepping back to reevaluate the situation, Ashley saw her fellow Devil Dogs struggling with their own attacks. On Viletooth the Bloated’s flanks, she saw Vector and Allen, two DPS Warriors, on one side whaling at the monster with their heavy iron weapons with little to no effect, while Matt and Austin were having similar results on the opposite side. None of their weapons seemed to be penetrating the Mini-Boss’s natural armor.

  Their ranged support didn’t seem to be doing any better. Within the handful of seconds that had gone by, Ashley had seen numerous iron-tipped arrows ricocheting off the Mini-Boss’s lumpy stone skin. The only attacks that seemed to be doing any damage at all were the Flurry and Pyroblasts that were coming from their Elemental Mages, but even then, the monster’s hit points had barely dropped by four percent.

  “Eeegggooorrr!” Viletooth the Bloated bellowed out, as stone spikes suddenly shot from the ground in a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree circle around it. The special attack smashed into anyone that was standing within a ten-yard-radius of the beast. Ashely barely heard the Mages and Rangers crying out in pain behind her as she took the brunt of the attack on her lowered shield. Before she could recover, the Mini-Boss followed up with a slashing attack that blasted her off her feet as it whirled around to smash Vector and Allen to the ground, while its long tail whipped around to bash Matt and Austin away like rag dolls.

  “Melee, force the boss back,” Ashely heard Kyarina’s voice cry out in her ear as the Valkyrie Guild’s Warriors charged past her in a blur. “All Mages fall back to maximum range and switch to Enhanced Shadow Bolt!”

  Before she could roll back to her feet, Ashley felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and yank her to her feet as the golden glow of healing spells began flashing on those that were injured. To Ashley’s surprise, the handful of zombies that the Valkyrie Guild had weren’t being sent in to distract the Mini-Boss, but were instead being used to drag the injured Devil Dogs out of the beast’s melee range. A surprisingly good use of the zombies since there was no way the lower-level Goblins could stand against such a high-level mob.

  “Thanks, Kyarina,” Ashely managed to gasp out, as the relief of a Regeneration spell washed over her burning throat.

  “Where in the hell did that thing come from?” Kyarina asked, as she waved away the thanks without a second thought.

  “Ambush predator,” Ashley barked in the way of an explanation, as she nodded toward the rocky ridge that they’d been circling around, “it was blended into the rocks waiting for us to get into range before attacking.”

  “Fuck!” Kyarina cursed as Vardrid and Demonslayerz were blasted off their feet. The Mini-Boss had moved in a blur that physically blasted the two Valkyrie Warriors off their feet before either could even react. The blinding assault was similar to that of a Warrior’s Charge Ability. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the four Devil Dog Warriors drive forward to stop the monster from mauling her husband and his best friend while the rest of their guild’s melee classes charged into the scrum.

  “Get those BAMFs unloaded and set up now!” Ashley ordered, preparing to charge back into the melee as she saw Killtet rush in with a handful of Rogues from both guilds.

  “Torlando, work with Julianna and Lylirra’s groups to kite that bitch!” Kyarina ordered to her guildmates.

  “Santaz! Shelly! Marina!” Ashley’s voice cracked out, as she automatically picked up what the other woman was planning, “follow the Valkyrie Mage’s lead!”

  “Don’t set up those devices here,” a harsh voice suddenly demanded behind them, “set them up at max range!”

  Turning around, Ashely was confused to see Pherala, the NPC that Kyarina had brought with them, badgering her guildmates that were struggling to unlimber the heavy crossbows that they’d brought with them. She could see Buck angrily trying to shove the Centauride female away but she was having none of it. Ashley was just sucking in a breath to bellow for the dumb NPC to be taken down if she wouldn’t get her horse’s ass out of the way, when a dark shadow shot over her head. That split-second of horror was all she had before Viletooth the Bloated bodily crashed into her guildmates.

  The devastation to the support group was total as bodies and the heavy iron tripods of the BAMFs were sent flying in every direction. Though, to Ashley’s utter surprise, she saw that Pherala had somehow managed to stay on her hooves through the assault. Racing away in an arc that forced the Mini-Boss away from the downed raid members, the Centauride twanged again and again as she released a powerful Multi-Shot that actually seemed to be piercing the beast’s stone-like skin.

  In a moment of epiphany, the Devil Dog Raid Leader suddenly realized the grievous mistake she’d been making this entire time at not treating the NPC as a useful member of the raid. No scripted personality would react with such an emotional response. It wasn’t intelligence that made a soldier put their life on the line to pull an enemy away from their downed brothers and sisters, but an understanding of honor and empathy for doing what one believed to be right.

  It was more than just that, Ashley’s face flushed in shame as the last week flashed before her mind’s eye. The unhappy look on Kyarina’s face when she’d been berating Pherala for asking to be allowed to scout ahead or the number of other requests that she’d made during their trek across the Plains of Atoll. It was the same look that all of them had been getting from the Valkyrie players since they’d arrived in BrokenFang Hold. Ashley silently swore at her own actions in all of this as she watched the melee fighters race after the monster that Pherala was doing her best to lead away from the support group.

  “I’ve been such a pigheaded idiot,” Ashley helplessly swore as Kyarina stepped up beside her, “that’s why we’ve been at each other’s throats since we’ve arrived in BrokenFang Hold. It’s why you treat the NPCs building the defenses the way you do. Why you drink and laugh with them in the Pub at the end of the day.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up about it too much,” Kyarina said in a knowing tone, as she began spamming Regenerations out to their raid mates, “I had to go through a similar learning experience myself.” Her face momentarily darkened at the memory. “Even with Startum’s warning, I couldn’t accept the facts before my eyes until I’d realized the truth for myself.”

  Before either of them could say more, Viletooth the Bloated pulled out his next unique attack as the Mini-Boss’s disgustingly long tongue shot out of its mouth like a frog or lizard trying to catch a fly. Though Ashley had no idea just how dangerous the massive tongue was, it was obvious that it was trying to drag the Centauride into its oversized maw. Before any of the Warriors could get into range to pull aggro, Pherala managed to get out of what, Ashley could only assume, was the weapon’s range. When that happened, the Mini-Boss sprang into the air again.

  At first, Ashley was sure it was going for the Centauride. That fear changed as soon as she heard the chorus of screams as Viletooth the Bloated crashed into the group of Devil Dog Mages that had been blasting it from range. While the Valkyrie players normally would have already split apart into separate smaller groups, her people hadn’t thought it necessary with the distances involved. Ashley could only watch in frustration as the entire group was blasted off their feet like bowling pins from a strike. If not for their Holy Shields, they would’ve all been wiped out right then and there, she thought to herself, just as the Valkyrie players sent their zombies in to distract the Mini-Boss.

  “Fall the fuck back!” Ashley shouted in raid chat at her guildmates who were still trying to fight the monster. The only reason they hadn’t been targeted as of yet was that the Valkyrie players had sent their zombies in as a distraction. The really scary part was that the Mini-Boss was only down twelve percent of its overall hit points so far.

  “We’ve got to somehow pin it down,
” Kyarina growled in frustration as the Mini-Boss belched out another noxious cloud, before yanking an undead Goblin into its gaping maw with a flick of its long tongue.

  Ashley knew the other woman was right. If anything, it was even more of a priority now that their support lines had been scattered. The healers were too busy trying to replace their raid mates’ Holy Shields and recasting Regeneration to focus on dispelling the monster’s AOE. If this kept up much longer, they were going to start losing people when their Priests ran out of mana. As the Mini-Boss slurped down three more zombies in quick succession, her eyes narrowed.

  “I have something that might work to leash this fucker,” Ashley said to Kyarina, as the inklings of a plan began forming in her mind. While she didn’t know if she would survive its implementation or not, it was the only thing she could come up with that might save the raid. “Just make sure you get those BAMFs set up in time to take this fucker down.”

  “I’ve got your back,” Kyarina said without hesitation.

  Both of them knew that this was close to turning into a disaster. A unique named Mini-Boss with nearly impenetrable stone skin wasn’t something to take lightly. It was only a matter of time before Viletooth the Bloated started slurping down their raid mates with the same ease it was devastating the zombies.

  “Pherala,” Ashley bellowed to get the Centauride’s attention, “get far enough away to safely get that BAMF set up. Killtet help her! The rest of you BAMF operators follow the Centauride’s lead.” She clashed her shield and sword together to emphasize her next words. “Warriors and Rogues, follow my lead!”

  Ashley didn’t wait around to see if her orders were followed. Ignoring the confused shouts coming from the rest of the raid, she focused on racing towards the feeding Mini-Boss. Instead of triggering Charge to get up close and personal to the monster like she normally would’ve done, she simply ran into where she thought the aggro range started and triggered her Provoking Shout. A Warrior Ability that forced all enemies within range to focus their aggression towards her.