Adam Drake - Blackout

I was about to ask Thorm to stop so I could summon Smoke when we pulled up short.

“What’s this?” Thorm asked, concern tinging his voice.

Ahead of us, the fog thinned enough so details of the topography could be seen. A massive hill appeared. I noticed it was oddly shaped; wide, and rounded along its top. Almost as if we were looking at a cathedral dropped in the middle of the marsh to obstruct our progress.

As the fog dissipated more, a large path could be seen leading away from the strange hill and vanished to the west.

“Guildhall?” I whispered.

Thorm shook his head. “Doubt it. We’re looking for the guildhall’s gate. Aren’t we?” Suddenly, Snowflake tensed up beneath us and let out a low growl.

Mounted figures emerged from the west, following the path approaching the hill.

We were far enough away, and within a thicket of bushes and dead trees, that we were not spotted right away.

I slid off Snowflake as did Thorm. Our eyes never leaving the passing forms. As we hunkered down behind the cover of a fallen tree, Thorm dismissed Snowflake with a gesture. He was too big to try to hide, even in this fog. If we were spotted, though, we could bring our mounts out in an instant.

None of the figures, numbering about a dozen, seemed to look in our direction.

“Who are they?” Thorm asked.

I tried to assess them, but came up with character information screens with blank statistics. The fog, or even magic, masked these individuals from prying eyes.

A pair of horses pulled a small wagon. Lashed to the top of the wagon sat a black statue of what looked to be a woman. One arm stretched out in front of her with a finger pointing ahead.

The group stopped directly in front of us and looked toward the odd hill. Their outlines were various, indicating a wide range of races and classes.

But one near the front caught my attention. Its form was sloping and had what looked like wings grasping at the reins of its horse mount.

Then it struck me. I knew exactly who it was.

Just then the figure turned its rounded head to speak with another rider, and I saw a small beak instead of a mouth.

Ogden Trite!

With an avatar of a huge gray owl, Ogden Trite was recognizable even at this distance. This was the individual who had tried to double cross me over the Cloak of Shadows and spitefully put the bounty on my head.

Anger blinded me and I rose up, sword in hand.

Thorm grabbed at my wrist and pulled me down. It took everything I had not to strike out at him, but did not resist.

“There are too many, Vivian,” he said, tone firm. “No need to commit suicide when we now have the advantage.”

“Advantage?” I hissed. “How do you figure we have that?” Getting my anger under control was difficult considering my tormentor was a short sprint away.

Thorm released my arm, and calmly said, “We know we’re in the right place, now. Before it was just speculation. Let us bide our time, at least for a little while longer, and try to learn more.”

The rational part of my brain wrestled with the animal aggression which howled for revenge. But Thorm was correct. We had Ogden now. There would be no more hiding. If I wanted to end this once and for all, it wouldn’t be gained from rushing at him here. But I wanted to. Badly.

I glared at Ogden from the safety of our hiding spot. There was small satisfaction to be gained knowing he was unaware of our presence, and that I could kill him now. But it would be both suicidal and, most likely, unsuccessful.

Ogden had surrounded himself with a large cadre of guards. No doubt, because he knew I would be out to get him. Another small bit of satisfaction.

Still, he only had me to be concerned about, while I, on the other hand, had a blood-thirsty subset of the server’s population out to get me.

“What is he waiting for?” I asked.

Thorm shrugged. “That hill is strange, maybe-.” Before he could finish, Ogden stopped speaking to his companion and raised a wing above his head. A signal.

Suddenly, the hill before us moved.

The vast object heaved upwards as if forced from below by tectonic forces. The sound of cracking rock and earth filled the air, blotting out the natural noises of the marsh.

Stunned, Thorm and I could only watch in wide-eyed amazement.

The hill shambled forward, its huge murky outline getting bigger. Then, it stopped moving.

From the middle of its dark mass two large ovals appeared. They illuminated brightly as if many lanterns or torches burned from within. Then the bright ovals blinked.

I stifled an intake of breath.

They were eyes.

The eyes moved in closer and a colossal reptilian head formed. A hooked beak, mottled with lichen and muddy grass appeared beneath them. It took me a second to recognize what I was gaping at. A turtle. A huge, mountain sized turtle.

None of the group before us fled in fear, they simply waited, as if being confronted with one of the largest creatures in the game was a normal occurrence.

“Whoa,” Thorm said, awestruck.

“Yeah,” I said. I’d encountered nothing like this before. It was terrifying as much as it was impressive.

“Pull up its stats,” Thorm said.

I did.

Name: Wally’s Womp

Species: Void Titan

Subspecies: Guardian

Level: Unknown

Hit Points: Unknown

Mana: Unknown

Armor Class: Unknown

Attack Rating: Unknown

Damage Range: Unknown

Weapon Type: Unknown

Abilities: Unknown

Special Abilities: Unknown

Notes: Enslaved. Avoid at all costs.

“Holy cow,” I said, amazed.

“What is a Void Titan?” Thorm whispered. Then in an incredulous tone, said, “And why is it named ‘Wally’s Womp’?”

My thoughts flitted back to the void portal I had opened earlier that day before Mudhoof sent Kragg through it. I’d seen something big moving in the distance. “That is something we don’t need to be messing with.”

The titan shuffled forward, shaking the ground. The dark shape I took for a hill was in fact its shell. This thing was the size of a palace. The gargantuan beast brought its head down to ground level.

I said, “What is it doing here?”

The titan settled its house sized head onto the path before Ogden and his riders, blocking the way.

Still, none of the others reacted in fear.

Ogden moved his horse mount closer until he was only a short distance from the creature.

Then, without being given any obvious signal or command, the Void Titan opened its massive beak. Wider and wider its mouth stretched out until the opening to its throat was exposed.

And there, somehow inserted into the flesh deep within its mouth, was a travel gate, its silver surface shimmering.

“Well I’ll be,” Thorm said.

Then, without a bother in the world, Ogden rode his horse over the rounded edge of the monster’s lower beak, and entered its mouth. He casually moved up the large tongue which resembled a wide, wet road.

The rest of the group followed suit, along with the wagon, picking their way up and inside the living cave.

At the travel gate, Ogden rode through its flat surface and vanished. All the other riders did the same.

Then, after a few moments, the beak slowly closed. The Titan shut its eyes and was still.

Both Thorm and I were speechless. So that was how the gate was protected. Ogden had somehow secured the safety of his guildhall entrance within the maw of this colossus.

I slumped to the ground, leaning up against the dead tree. How were we expected to gain entrance through that? For the first time in quite a while, I felt utterly hopeless.