Adam Drake - Blackout

“Wow, so you’re in the FILTERED’s lair, huh?” Mudhoof said when I finished. “Wish I could be there with you, Vee. Sounds like it will be a tough nut to crack.”

“Hey, you are the only reason I am here right now and not killing rabbits in the newbie-zone.”

“Any word from Thorm?”

“Not yet, but I’ll shoot him a chat right now. I thought it best to let him deal with his combat situation first without me nattering in his ear.”

“Well, we should both get back at it,” he said.

It was then I saw what was in his background. “You’re in a tavern?”

Mudhoof leaned back so I could see more. A small generic tavern with a lone barkeep rubbing the counter with a cloth. “Yup, living the high life.” He held up a frothy mug and took a sip. “I recently upgraded my simulation suit to enable taste for the first time. Been trying out all the different ales that I can.”

Again, he made me laugh. Then I cringed, fearing I would have been heard.

“Okay, well, enjoy the ale. You’ve earned it.”

“Give ’em hell, Vee!” Mudhoof said, and signed off.

I took a moment to change hiding spots, then pinged Thorm.

He answered immediately. His face was hunched over and rocking back and forth. At the bottom of the screen could be seen the top of Snowflake’s fury head bobbing in and out of frame.

“Miss Valesh!” The Holy Knight declared with a smile. “You’re alive!”

“Yeah, I made it through the travel gate. I’m in Ogden’s little domain, and currently undetected.” Along the edges of the chat’s view-window I could see the yellow sand of a desert shoot by.

“Where are you? What happened?”

“I’m several gates away, now,” he said. “Leading my new friends on another wild goose chase.” He leaned a little to one side. Behind him about a hundred paces away were two riders in hot pursuit. One wore a bright white cloak which flapped about in the wind.

“You got to admire their persistence,” I said, and meant it. “But why chase you? It’s me they want.”

Thorm laughed into the wind, his blond mustache whipping about. “That Titan made it clear hanging around would not be tolerated. Besides, once you vanished in the thing’s mouth I think they must have thought you dead. So, I was the closest target to take out their aggressions on.”

“Sorry to get you into this mess, Thorm.” I seemed to spend a lot of time apologizing to my friends because of my own problems.

“Apology not accepted,” Thorm said with a smile. “This is all part of the game, and I will be the first to admit this is really fun.” He glanced behind him briefly, and said. “But I must go, Miss Valesh. I’m going to see how far I can lead them before they lose interest or have to stop for a bathroom break. Good luck with Ogden!” And with that he signed off.

It felt good to know he was okay, and even better that neither of my friends held any animosity toward me for their predicament.

I moved through the trees until I looked down upon the huge ice complex.

Speaking of my problems, it was time to solve my biggest one, once and for all.

And to do that I had to break into a fortress.

Between the tree line of the forest and the edge of the chasm, I darted from cover to cover. If it weren’t for my Shadow ability, I would have easily been spotted.

Still, from a tactical point of view the forest edge was too close to the fortress walls. The trees should have been cleared out to at least a hundred paces, and the ground in between pruned of any cover. This just underscored Ogden’s overconfidence that no one, even an invading Guild, had a hope of breaching his Titan defense.

Well, having just breached it I was now going to invade.

Once I reached the very edge of the chasm, I looked down. Sheer rock walls vanished into an impenetrable darkness. The far ledge was at least twenty paces distance, and flush with the fortress wall. A sane person would not risk the jump, but I had to try.

I took a couple of dozen paces back and looked up at the battlements far above.

From this angle no one could see me. With the cover of approaching night, and my active Shadow ability, I didn’t think I’d be spotted, even if someone happened to be looking right at this area.

From my inventory I took out two short daggers and gripped one in each hand.

With a silent prayer, I ran.

At the very edge of the chasm ledge, I jumped and used my Leap ability at the same time.

I sailed across the vast space the wind buffeting my ears.

Apparently, my investment of skill points in Leap paid off, for I managed to cross the distance easily. I slammed against the wall, jamming both daggers into its ice.

It took a moment to get my bearings and be thankful I wasn’t pinwheeling into the chasm’s darkness for an eternity.

I began to climb, pulling myself up with the daggers, then using my Sure Footed ability to keep my feet firmly lodged against the wall’s slick surface. Over and over I repeated this process. Occasionally, I would risk a glance upwards, but no one was peering down.

At the half-way point, the massive drawbridge to my left suddenly rumbled to life and descended. I froze in place and hugged the wall.

The noise of the huge chains lowering it down was deafening, and I could feel the vibrations in the ice itself.

The drawbridge thudded into place and a group of riders exited the fortress and crossed over.

A little alarmed by they appearance, I twisted around as much as I could to get a better view. Was one of them Ogden? If he left now, what would I do? None appeared to have his sloping owl shaped outline, and they followed the snow-covered path to disappear into the forest.

Were they the ones who I’d seen with Ogden earlier? I couldn’t be sure.

As the drawbridge began to be pulled up, clattering away, I resumed my climb.

Sooner than I expected I reached the top, and with extreme caution I peeked over.

No one was there. Only the view of various roofs of the fortress’s inner buildings greeted me.

Slowly, I pulled myself up and glanced down the battlements in both directions. Nothing, and no one. I knew there were clockwork guards on the walls, so I remained cautious as I dropped down onto the icy walkway.

A short distance to my left an open doorway into a tower presented itself. To my right, a long expanse of exposed wall.

I slinked to the tower and entered.

The walkway continued through the tower and out onto the next set of battlements. Far in the distance I could see a clockwork guard wobbling along. Too far to be a threat.

Ice stairs spiraled downward into darkness, and on those I descended.

Going down the same distance I’d climbed up made for a small joy and I quickly reached ground level.

A single closed wooden door was set into the ice wall of the tower. Opening doors represented the greatest risk of discovery for a Shadow. Yet, the huge size of the fortress coupled with the few patrolling guards, made the chance of someone looking at the door as I opened it pretty small.

I slowly reached for the doorknob.

The door exploded open.

As the door slammed inward, I jumped back and instantly took out my sword.

A clockwork guard stood within the entrance, its squared body blocking the way. Then it waddled in, turned to the stairs and climbed.

I breathed a sigh of relief, trying to recover from a near heart attack, and leaned against the wall. The pommel of my sword clinked against the wall’s icy surface, causing my Shadow form to shimmer.

The clockwork guard stopped.

Tensing up, I prepared for a fight.

The guard did not move, only stood there with one blocky foot on the next step up. Slowly, its head turned and square black eyes seemed to scan over the little room. Steam shot out of its back.