Accidental Reaver

Blinking, Luke fixed his blurry vision.

A metallic sting stabbed into his nose. His senses alerted his body before his mind could react. Xera stabbed out, gutting a Crystal Stalker. Luke kicked the beast off, causing it to thrash against its partner. Ice summoned itself underneath the two monsters, reflecting off the silver corridor Luke returned to—making the other beast slip. Sooty kicked off his shoulder, gouging out monster eyes with scary efficiency.

As excruciating roars made Luke's ears ring, he glided across the ice, beheading the first Crystal Stalker as Sooty crushed the spine of the other. Cutting Xera in an upper arc above his head, Luke sliced apart crystal stalagmites trying to impale him from the ceiling. Brandishing Xera through the paralyzed Crystal Stalker's stomach, innards spilled onto frosted ice, freezing the blood before it could touch Luke's boots. With a death wail, the Crystal Stalker tried to bite onto Luke's leg, but Sooty tore off its jaw with a Reaver Beak attack.

A vaguely familiar feminine voice broke above the recently settled silence.

"Hey! I heard something this way."

Pinpointing the movement pattern up ahead, Luke counted four sets of steps. Palming his forehead, mist broke out from his elemental body, creating a shroud. Sooty settled on his shoulder, and the monster body evidence started rapidly deteriorating.

Damn noisy monsters, giving me away. Rotten luck.

The rush of steps came his way with an increasing volume. Luke hurriedly inspected his surroundings. The crystals above were all neutered, any threatening to fall already had in the immediate vicinity. Behind him, as far as the eye could see, was a narrow, endless silver reflective tunnel, not a monster in sight. The unpredictable light refraction caused shadows to dot the corridor. The light beams tried to pierce into Luke, reflected by the thin ice layer he controlled over himself—his attention too preoccupied to do more than try to reflexively sidestep or dodge the natural hazard.

Sure, the most common monster in this dungeon zone used camouflage, but Luke's vision quickly pierced through that veil. Whatever he missed, the mist shroud would not. Having secured the perimeter, Luke oriented toward the coming hunter party. He tightened his grip on Xera's metal hilt, crossing the sword wand in front of him. Sooty dropped into a shadow pocket up ahead, ready to do an ambush of her own. In the direction the Reaver faced, the silver glass-esque mirror walls curved sharply.

His mist shroud flooded up ahead, the grey and white mix pressuring forward. It caressed over the four hunters heading this way. The light of recognition entered his eyes. Luke saw Halen's party in the mind's eye feedback from the mists information channel. Frost creations covered the Reaver, thickening particularly around his arms. The runes from a frosted Essence Bond reinforced them. Luke supplanted the ground, spreading ice a few feet away from the tunnel's sharp curve.

This territory was his.

As frost began to rush vertically from his body, arctic winds blew, accelerating the mists. A giant snowflake image sprouted underneath his feet, in a deep blue bordering on black. Triple Step tensed at his back foot, ready to act as a spring-loaded dash.

An elfish voice echoed, "Ludris, the mist's artificial, somethings up ahead. Kelly, your cosmic protection, please. Juliana, shield up."

The monic Archer with heavy eye bags grimly nodded, nocking his bow, while a silver glow entered his eyes. "My visibility's been restored to about fifteen feet," he whispered.

A woman in heavy chain mail, a tower shield, a spear, and brown hair tied in a bun took the front, covering up about half the corridor. The four member party slowed their rush. Bringing her spear up against her tower shield, Juliana said, "Halen, it's got to be…"

"I know, just our luck. The cold's already seeping into my bones." Protective water waves began to sway around Halen's party, the water mage controlling them with elevated skill. "A terrible match up. Elixirs."

Each of the four took out a vial with red-silver liquid from a pouch attached to their belts, drinking them in one gulp before tossing the enhancing substance. Kelly summoned an additional cosmic swirl, the three disks covering most of what Juliana left exposed. A thin barrier prevented most hostile light beams from attacking the party, the more concentrated ones breaking through after a significant weakening. Rushing wind suffused Ludris' arrows.

His eyes caught ice on the floor from the silver wall's reflection. He gestured with a fist in the air, and the party halted. "Any further, and we step into dangerous terrain, elemental ice. The Ninth." Juliana's shield began to grow mana veins as a guardian image formed over her armor.

This spying through mist is incredible. Their front is a hardened shell with that Guardian and star swirls, leaving hardly a gap. Luke exhaled harsh, thick white mists. But I don't need a gap given to me. I'll force one open.

Kelly, the usually loud Astralist, shouted with vigor, "Come out of hiding, Defier. We know you're up the tunnels. Give us the crystal key, and you'll be free to go. There's no way you can take us on."

Popping a vein in her forehead, Juliana, said, "Just announce us to the world, why don't you? Monsters are around, you hot-head."

Ice crystals began to form inside the barrier protecting the hunter party. Predictive images played over Luke's vision, various possibilities revealing themselves up to three actions ahead. Luke pulled at one such thread, about to make his move.

Halen audibly gasped, the first to notice the miniature ice crystals overtaking the space they occupied. Water rushed from the controlled ring toward the center, trying to smother them.

A false move, one failing to understand the depths of elemental control Luke peered into.

The water froze inches away from the multiplying crystals. A frosted sheen pervaded every inch of air. Releasing a low 'shit,' Ludris tackled both Kelly and Halen to the ground, ice formed at the impact point, sliding them further than anticipated.

So easily manipulated. Tugging on the spiritual link with Sooty, Luke acted.

A blizzard fell over the four targets. Ice crystals shattered, focused on the three sliding on the floor, pushing them far away. Isolating Luke's first target—Juliana. Triple Step forced him through the air, landing onto the silver walls, an iced sword slash cut through the three cosmic swirls, bashing into Juliana's shield. She took the force easily, relieved, she taunted, "Ha, that all you got? Kelly hits harder than this."

Soft frosted mist flowed into Juliana's ear from behind, "It was meant to stagger you, this is what I've got." Xera ripped through the guardian's chest, ruining the chest mail armor trying to prevent the damage. Frost infected Juliana's organs. Her guardian image attempted to swing a giant two handed axe down onto the Reaver. He raised his left hand, stopping the attack, its sharp edge barely cracking the ice gauntlet covering.

Rapidly cooling blood left Juliana's mouth in a spurt, "I'm made of tougher stuff, Ninth." She began to wack her spear against Luke's side, a red glow empowering it. Luke fulminated the thick ice already around her wrist, the force ruined it, crippling the attack.

Luke ripped Xera up out Juliana's chest through her right shoulder, causing the Guardian to unwillingly drop her spear, "I don't doubt it." Planting his left hand on her back, he shoved her forward while exploding the rest of the ice covering her body. The Guardian smashed face first against the nearby iced flooring, slipping far away from her party. Luke found it commendable that she held onto her shield despite everything he threw her way.

"Sooty will handle you."

A wind arrow streaked toward Luke's lower back. A Shade appeared, taking the attack, rushing winds splitting upon impact.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Lay off of Juliana!" Kelly screamed, a cosmic collection of stars covered the narrow corridor, surmounting an assault on Luke. Water jets, using extreme pressure to slow the freezing, tried to split into the Reaver. Turning to the side, Luke used Xera to deflect what he couldn't avoid. He applied Essence Bond onto the noisy Astralist, and the frost started to cake onto her and her teammates. Shadow Wing placed an Iron Feather over Luke's body, then Essence Screeched, spreading Essence Bond to the three unfortunate souls.

Their spells weakened, movements became further sluggish, and the life drained from their bodies. Consuming the waters around her that Luke failed to freeze, Helena summoned twin water drakes, the spell coming from behind the star collection about to smash into Luke.

Shadow Wing created something of an opening in the spell effect, but not enough for Luke to fit through harmlessly. Dual splitting arrows glittered behind, despite Luke's initiation, the hunter party managed to create a three layered attack.

One about to skewer him. Iron Feather would halve the first, and modestly reduce the other two. He had a better plan. A rapidly rotating Essence Lance shattered into the hole already opened by Shadow Wing, ripping it open further. Jumping up, Luke pressed against a formed ice platform in the air. It cracked apart from the force created by Triple Step. Clearing through the opening, Luke bulldozed past the cosmic star rush, and Xera deflected the arrow rain.

Twin water dragons came to devour him whole. The Reaver imploded ice on his back, lowering him beneath them, doing the same tactic to his soles to right his low-flying path. He glided along, Shadow Wing already trying to tear the monic's neck out. His two teammates hindered its process but were limited in their options, due to the Shade's near-invulnerable properties.

A maw ripped behind the three targets, creating frost pressure, ruining their newfound balance, and putting Kelly into Luke's range. A sharp howl rang as shattered ice whipped Xera at the Astralist's neck. Right as the Reaver was going to lop off her head in one strike, Halen yelled out with conviction, "WE SURRENDER, NINTH."

Too late to stop entirely, Luke forcibly altered Xera's trajectory, sinking into Kelly's shoulder, deep into her chest. Distrustful, he created a Silent Domain from Whispering Tome. Since all three underwent horror, he encased each in ice from the neck down. A hyper-condensed ice crystal formed in his clawed hand, and he stuffed it down Kelly's exposed shoulder wound.

Xera immediately complained, "Aw…I was hoping they wouldn't say that. We just started to see some blood, too. Now random elves are sword blocking me, damn it."

Frost misted from all over the Reaver. Icy eyes stared down Halen.

"Why shouldn't I kill you all here? And how can I trust this is a true surrender?"

Kelly protested, "Halen, we can still-"

Halen glared at Kelly, "No, we can't, Kelly. I told you earlier to never apply logic to a Defier. Our best failed to scratch his surface."

Undergoing labored breathing, Ludris said, "Keep that ignorant tongue back for a moment, Kelly. The Ninth smothered the moonlight." Ludris called out to Luke, "I also lay down my arms to you. My other teammate is a newly minted level 50. She can't see what Halen and I can—ignore her words."

The waters seething around Halen returned to the ether. Calming somewhat, Luke noticed ample black crystals peppering the monic.

Come to think of it, that Guardian also had her fair share of corruption signs throughout her body.

Taking the silence as Luke waiting for an answer, Halen cautiously spoke, "I implore you, thaw your ice around my spatial bag. I can retrieve a surrender writ, under the Interface's influence. Once we sign, if we attack you afterward, our bodies will have our organs stop."

Kelly said, "Absolutely not, Halen. Let's rip a Return Scroll and get out of here."

"You are assuming the Ninth will let us do that, Kelly. I admire your fiery spark, but in front of this frozen spirit, it's only going to provoke him."

The Astralist shivered uncontrollably; Luke's ice overwhelmed her body. Part of him wanted to thin the ice layer, but he took no chances until an agreement was reached. Stepping back, Luke clapped his hands.

Sooty flew from the corner, dragging along the Guardian woman. Brown rot covered her body, alongside the black infectious corruption. Wisps of shadow clung to her wounds, her breath faint. Dropping the body onto an ice patch, Sooty landed on Luke's upper back.

Not knowing her position, Kelly growled, "What did you do to Juliana? When I get out this, I swear-"

Frost appeared in Kelly's mouth, the warm moisture within turned into a hostile layer. She gapped, interrupting her threats.

"Stay quiet. I did what I had to. Did any of you four try to negotiate? No? Didn't think so. This is the consequence of provoking me. If not for the Tide, I'd slit your throats and move on." Arctic winds built around the Reaver's bubbling emotions—patience thin.

Scratching underneath Sooty's neck, Luke asked, "How much longer until Shadow Wing is back?"

Sooty answered with a low, drawn out caw.

"A bit too long for this stalemate. Have a spare Iron Feather?"

The corvid summoned a rotating Iron Feather, attaching it to Luke. Two sub-feathers flanked the main one. The earlier feather from Shadow Wing ended up being used from marginal blows landing during Luke's blitz. Wasted.

"Appreciate it, Sooty. Keep a watchful eye out for me."

Hopping off Luke, Sooty positioned herself in a shadow dip between the barely breathing Juliana and Kelly—waiting. Carefully shedding the ice around Halen's most visible spatial pouch, Luke said, "Will it out. That writ you mentioned, I'll be reading it first."

A large scroll softly landed on the crinkling frost near Halen. The elf woman chattered her teeth, "This it is, Ninth. I'd hand it to you, but I'm rather preoccupied being frozen to death by you."

Sliding the frost toward him, the substance skillfully carried the scroll a short distance away. An ice pillar rose slowly, bringing the scroll to eye level. Creating ice constructs, the finger-like formations opened the scroll, and with no 'surprises' upon doing so, Luke began to read it over.

It detailed precisely as Halen described, any who signed the contract would surrender to the named party in the first block, still left blank. If they went against the terms, their organs would fail, an assured death without the best healing available. Something no one in this dungeon had access to. Fetching a writing utensil from the Inventory, Luke put his name in the proper block. Afterward, up to six sign blocks were left for any who wanted to use the writ and follow its terms.

Flicking both the utensil and the writ over with the assistance of the frost formations, they landed within Halen's reach. Luke freed one hand from his ice. Hands shaking uncontrollably from onset hypothermia, the elf party leader signed her name in a mess. The signature still took, as Luke made out a thin white tether now linking her and him.

Repeating a similar action with the monic Archer, he also signed, thin ice crystals leaving his respiration. When it came Kelly's time to sign, she started to turn her head away in refusal, relenting when an uncharacteristic growl left Luke's mouth. She signed—a scowl on her face.

This bitch really tested his patience.

"Always one like you." He turned to Juliana, the Guardian. Her eyes fluttered from hanging on against death. With three of her party members already under contract, Luke sucked up all the ice in the terrain—except for the ice covering the reflective silver corridor walls, and the frost layers around the three hunters.

That stopped the uncontrollable shivering, but the brown rot from Vorpal Touch and the corruption already in her veins still appeared too far gone. Puzzled, Luke said, "Sooty, can't you stop the rot? It's from you."

Flapping out her hideaway shadow, Sooty hopped around Juliana. She twisted her head in puzzlement. Further explaining what he wanted through Reaver's Link, Sooty got the picture. She tapped Juliana with a wing, and the rot slowly sloshed off the hunter. Much of the damage already done—it stopped getting any worse.

A worried voice echoed from behind the Reaver, Halen's, "We're already at your beck and call. The writ binds the three of us. Could you release Kelly, our healer? She can restore Juliana enough to sign."

Unlike the situation with Yelaris' party, Juliana lacked enough consciousness to give any of her three party members permission to sign for her. Hence the predicament.

I might have gone a little far this time…

He removed one of his healing potions from the Inventory and jammed the healing liquid down Juliana's throat. It flowed down, and she coughed reflectively. The substance got to work, reversing a moderate amount of damage wracking her body.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Luke exhaled deeply in disappointment. He could use up some of his Dryad Weave Bandages in the hopes she woke up, but frankly, this party was no longer a threat. Even if the Guardian went Rambo on her own once she came to, a stab to the throat with Xera would end the futile stupidity. Flicking a hand out, the ice and frost layers melted from the subdued hunters.

Rushing over, Kelly summoned green stars and warm sun rays behind her back. The soothing spells began to revert the grievous wounds all around Juliana's body. Kelly sent a silent glare Luke's way. To Luke's surprise, the astral spells minorly reverted the black dungeon corruption crystals poking out from Juliana's body, albeit painfully slow.

Sooty glided up beside Luke, settling down next to his feet. Halen came to Luke's right, and she handed him a white crystal key. "Here, one of the four you need to open up the Bastion in the final area. We won't need it anymore, and you won it fairly."

Swiping the key, Luke said, "What's your plan now? You seemed quick to surrender. Could've tried to come peacefully."

Chuckling, which led to a pained cough, Halen said, "Sometimes seeing is believing, and two of my party members don't believe a thing they hear. Next time, they'll respect their leader's commands, now won't they?" she shot a glance at Kelly, who seized up for a second.

Coming beside Kelly, Ludris kneeled down to start bandaging Juliana. When she came to, the monic explained their situation. Perhaps due to her condition, the Guardian didn't make a fuss, signing the writ. It floated back to Luke and entered the Inventory.

Having brought the four to hell, Luke asked Halen, their leader, "Before I came along, did you make any progress in getting out of here?"

"Ludris can read runes fluently, and I have some schooling in the language as well. We were following the signs until we ran into you. Unless we've been totally fooled, this path should lead to one of the four exits out." She scrunched up her face, "Strange to have you up ahead like that. Normally, we would've met at a crossroads or intersection."

Under the dual efforts of Kelly's astral healing, and Ludris' bandaging, Juliana recovered quickly. She shakily stood, hands on her knees. Her armor was ruined beyond repair in the stomach area and right shoulder. She spoke faintly, and Ludris walked past her, returning a moment later, handing her a spear. She used her spear for support and finally stood straight. Kelly continued to control the green stars, closing up the worst wounds.

The Reaver shrugged at Halen's implied question, "I ended up there after solving a room. All I can say—I understudied this dungeon." Pointing to the black crystal corruptions all over Juliana's back and sternum, Luke said, "Any plans for that? It doesn't look good, and I swear I'm not the cause."

"I knew that without your saying, Ninth. The faster we leave, the better for Juliana. Come along, would you? We both will have to come down this path now unless you prefer to backtrack and find one of the other three exits yourself?"

Trusting in himself, and the writ tethering the four hunters to him, Luke slowly nodded, "Better than anything else I can come up with. Let's clear this place out."