Fragments (Somnia Online Book 3), page 13
Dansyn shrugged. “Was worth a thought. Still, I’ll keep an eye on his waist, and pop on my speedy feet song if we need it.”
“Right then.” Murmur clapped her hands together, partially to get their attention, but also to help stop herself from shaking. “Time to move out and see what else we can learn.”
Everyone nodded and headed out, their moods determined. None of them were stupid enough to think they’d get a boss like this on the second try.
Lasso ducking was not one of Murmur’s favorite things. The damned golden snake passed over them every thirty seconds, making them all execute something like burpees. It was far too much like an actual workout. By the second lasso pass, they had the move down. It didn’t make it any less harrowing; in fact, it made adrenaline course through Murmur like fire through her veins.
The huge dwarf began to glow, stomping his feet under him and bracing his legs against the sandy ground. He hefted his axe while whirlwinds danced around him, around them, making everyone in the party dart to and fro.
On a whim, Murmur leveled a Mez at the closest one, causing it to freeze in place, but just as she cast the next spell, the Dwarf let out a war cry, and the sound echoed throughout the chamber as his axe came crashing down.
“On the floor!” Veranol shouted out.
Most of them reacted in time, except for Exbo and Jinna. The ranger was mid jump during the warning, which also saved him. Powered by agile reflexes he swayed in the air just as the ground sprung to life underneath them. Those already on the ground were jostled, but Jinna, who hadn’t managed to interrupt his ability, was thrown through the air to land with a wet thud against the dome, which sent him plummeting to the ground.
“Shit. Shit. Shit.” Devlish muttered, before screaming. “Don’t move. Lasso incoming in two.”
Which Exbo didn’t quite land in time to avoid, and Beastial had already stood up too far. Down to nine people, Murmur had to decide fast. “Ranger down. Group one can Evac. Group two, keep him live as long as possible.”
Evac flashed up and around them, taking them back into the steps where Jinna, Exbo, and Beastial stood checking over their gear as their corpses disappeared. Veranol, Rashlyn, Mellow, and Dansyn held out for another ninety seconds or so. Enough to witness three more lassos, two of which came on the heels of the axe fall. On top of that, the attacks were punctuated by a very strange double beat of their foe’s feet. They hadn’t even got him down to eighty percent yet.
“Do you think we can do this?” Veranol voiced what all of them were probably thinking, and Murmur wasn’t entirely sure how to answer him. Sure, they could do it, they’d always done it. They’d never cared about wiping and dying—experience could always be regained.
But not in this world. Because in this world, Murmur didn’t know if there was life after death. And while she really needed to figure it out for herself, right now wasn’t the time. Murmur held up her sleek hand in front of her, frowning at it. So soft, and real, the nails sharp enough to draw blood. No, now wasn’t the time to contemplate this, but Somnia wasn’t just a game to her anymore. In many ways it was real.
“We can. I think we’re missing something.” Sinister answered for her. “He moves in a rhythm. A cadence if you will, almost like a bard. His legs thrum a beat of sorts as he moves.”
“Is that why the whole dungeon is a riddle? Are they verses of a song?” Dansyn piped up, a huge smile spreading over his face.
“You can’t be serious,” Havoc began, but then his brow pinched and he chuckled. “I bet we have to dance in time with him or some shit.”
Which made Murmur wonder which of the AIs was in charge of this dungeon. It didn’t feel like Telvar, and it wasn’t as misleading as Arita had been, so it stood to reason that this one belonged to Belius, who seemed to prefer roundabout ways to access things. And dancing with the boss didn’t seem to be Bel’s style, but considering the substantial amount of information he’d withheld from her in the short amount of time the game had been live, Murmur didn’t put it past him that he’d kept a side of himself completely hidden from her.
“Yeah, dancing with him isn’t going to be it, but I dunno, maybe he’s executing a type of ancient dwarven capoeira or something?” Murmur knew Sin was right, they were missing something. From the lasso to the matching steps, to the beat of the whole fight. She watched as the huge statue in the middle of the arena despawned again, its stance burned into her mind. Fierce and proud, an axe dangling at its side, with a horn just above it attached to a belt...
An axe and a horn.
Congratulations, you are one step closer to uncovering one of Somnia’s greatest mysteries. One giant step for a locus might be a small one for a dwarf. What do you hear when the horn plays? How do the notes sound? Remember, you’ve already worked with Dunforth once. Wars once waged are not easily forgotten. Approach with caution.
“Guys. I think I know what to do.” Because finally, finally she’d found a connection to the fountains.
Murmur stood on the sand in front of the monstrous arena that held Dunforth, listening so intently she couldn’t focus on anything else. The timing had to be just right. They’d already attempted her plan four times and failed abysmally, but she was so certain she was right. She was grateful that her friends followed her lead without question, even though they kept wiping. It was the timing, she knew it. It was all about rhythm.
“You think there’s another way we can go about this plan?” Sinister stood at her elbow, her own eyes riveted in the same spot, watching for the horn to be raised while they got ready to duck the axe swing once again.
Murmur shook her head, not taking her eyes off the horn. “We just have to time it right.”
She was betting a lot on this; if she miscalculated even for a moment, she could wipe everyone, including herself. There wouldn’t be enough time for them to react, because her solution wasn’t combat based. Her friends held their tongues and followed her lead, even though her certainty that there was a hidden event was based on a hunch about the horn. She took a deep breath, and bounced down to the ground, barely avoiding the reverb from the swinging axe.
In the few seconds between its passing and the lasso that would lash out, the horn sounded one mournful note, like the warning she’d heard from the fountain when they went to war with the scouts back in Verendus. While it was at full sound, she cast three abilities at almost exactly the same time. Altruism to raise her faction, Charismatic to boost her charisma, and finally her MA ability Mind Wipe to reduce Dunforth’s aggression. She dropped down into a full-on curtsey, the rest of the raid following in suit, or bowing deeply.
The lasso began to uncoil in such slow motion as she watched out of the corner of her eye, she thought she’d totally fucked up again. There was no way they’d avoid the lasso this time, none of them would, they weren’t positioned right. Why the hell had she thought it would work?
But the light of the lasso died, and it fell harmlessly on the ground next to Sinister, whose sigh of relief was audible in the sudden silence of fallen whirlwinds and the halted Boss encounter.
Dunforth gazed down, his golden eyes flashing as he hefted his weapons back onto his belt, looping the great horn around its clip. His shadow covered them all, looming over them like a mountain. “Why do you not fight me? Think carefully on your answer.”
Evening her breath out and hoping her heart didn’t fall out of her mouth, Murmur raised her gaze to rest on his. “We would choose to solve the riddle.”
Dunforth focused on her, his left hand stroking his beard in a gentle rhythm. He no longer conned battle ready, but a subdued orange that verged on yellow. Not quite friendly, but no longer kill on sight. Murmur gulped down on the sigh of relief threatening to make her melt into a gooey puddle on the floor. It had been such a risk to attempt this, such a wild guess, and it had paid off. This time.
His great brows furrowed, and he moved his feet carefully, causing the ground to shift slightly under the adjusted weight. “You have chosen wisely. As you have protected my city, you have now solved my castle. The riddles are done, the key is won, my treasure is yours without hassle.”
Murmur had to bite back on the retort that he certainly still seemed to be in the habit of rhyming, but she knew Sinister was probably having a far worse time of it.
“Know this.” His words held a warning that sunk through to her bones, ancient magic dancing through the wind. “You are marked already as a friend of Verendus. Should you ever seek shelter, Hightower castle welcomes you all.”
He stepped to the side, his friendliness now vaguely green, and he made a flourishing gesture with his right arm to reveal five chests behind him, all open and waiting for their group. He then held the same hand out in a wait gesture, and he himself waited patiently for their focus to shift back to him.
“The key is for your guild. It goes to your leader. Take heed. Your experience here depended on many contributing factors. Not everyone will have the same event. Some will be similar, others will be much harder. Each dungeon molds itself to the actions of the infiltrators.”
Glancing around at the others, Murmur could only guess that Dunforth perhaps told them that because one guild’s experience could differ greatly from another depending on their history. Well, they weren’t about to give Exodus any hints anyway. Posting strategies in an open forum was never a good idea this early in a game.
The hulking dwarf smiled down at them. “I may have died a thousand deaths, and I may die a thousand more, but you have my gratitude for this. I will take my leave now. But first.”
He pulled out a massive silver key that sparkled in the muted light of the cavern like it was embedded with diamonds. It tumbled from his hands all the way down to where Murmur stood, shrinking in size as it did so, until it landed neatly in her outstretched palms.
“Enjoy, Fable. As you were, as you will be, success has many faces.”
And then Dunforth was gone.
The guild Fable has defeated Dunforth Hightower of Hightower Castle and gained the first of twelve keys.
The ground beneath them shook slightly as the message boomed across the game world. Murmur stumbled, almost dropping the key and clenched her fist around it.
You have completed the Hightower Castle Dungeon.
You gain experience.
You gain experience for the Golem puzzle.
You gain experience for the Scarab puzzle.
You gain experience for the Gate puzzle.
You gain experience for the Hidden events.
You gain experience for treating Dunforth Hightower with respect.
You gain bonus experience for tackling the dungeon before reaching maximum power.
You gain bonus experience for solving the dungeon with a unique approach.
Murmur watched as her experience bar jumped up with each announcement, hitting level thirty, and passing through it like a knife through butter until it jumped into thirty-one, and closed in on thirty-two. She blinked at the last twenty percent she’d need and smiled, relief suffusing her with a gentle sigh.
A cascade of dings rang through the cavern and brightened her up. Every single one of them gained levels. Strange though it was in this world, her thoughts weren’t constantly on her experience numbers, but more on growing stronger. She pulled up her information and just stared at it. If they got so many bonuses for doing the dungeon before they were max level, they needed to do more pronto. Although they did take a lot of time, it was probably still slightly less time than grinding away for twelve hours straight and more experience. Murmur frowned, trying to figure it out.
Exbo seemed downcast, and Murmur noticed he was the only one who hadn’t dinged to level thirty-one. He had died more than any of them.
“How close?” she asked him, her voice soft.
“Probably a few undead dwarves.” He grinned at her. “I’ll go kite a few before I log off.”
“We can help, you know. It’s what we do.”
But Exbo just grinned at her. “Look at them, Mur. They’re almost falling onto their faces with tiredness. My carelessness in that damned cavern back seventeen levels ago is what this is. I’ll remedy it.”
Even though tiredness was trying to overwhelm her as well, she could see what he meant. She nodded as she noticed the bone weariness in her guild mates. They’d been ready to sleep about when they all stepped foot in this place, and now, they all looked ready to drop. After rounds and wipes, and Evacs full of testing the fights, of feeling out the order they needed to do things in, they’d been in the dungeon for almost a full Somnian day. The only thing holding the others upright seemed to be a vague eagerness to investigate the contents of the chests Dunforth had opened for them.
They approached the open chests as a group. Murmur automatically checked that her Thought Sensing, and Shielding were active. It often felt like an extension of herself. The chests on either end held a small mountain of gold, a Getashi, and crafting materials. A whole lot of the latter.
“Can you push these to the guild bank, Beast?” Murmur blinked as a wave of exhaustion swept over her. Maybe she really needed to just rest her mind for more than an hour at a time.
“Not if you...” He paused and frowned. “When did you set that up?”
She shook her head. “I honestly can’t remember. Feeling a bit tired myself.”
Hefting the Getashi in her left hand, she squeezed it tightly, before wrapping it up in some of the leftover cloth. There were only a couple left. Should she put them in the bank too? After all, hadn’t they just painted a target on her back for Jirald to hit? Her mind was on overload, so many thoughts at once. Spells danced around just beyond her reach. She counted to five and pulled herself together.
Miss you so much.
Murmur balked at the voice hovering around between her ears and hurriedly pushed the Getashi into her inventory. It probably wasn’t a great idea to put it anywhere someone might be able to get their hands on. If these fragments were assisting her parent’s voices on getting through to her, what would they do to one of the others who weren’t half-anchored in this world?
She turned her attention on the next couple of chests. The next two chests held gear. Bard only boots, which she frowned at and gave to Dansyn. “You know, that’s not fair, that’s going to make your fleet feet even faster.”
He laughed, somewhat subdued by tiredness, but she could see he was genuinely happy. “That’s me. Fleet feet.”
A healing circlet that had plus to blood drain on it. “Guessing this one goes to you, Sin.” She passed it to her gleeful friend, and saw Veranol’s frown.
“What? You can’t use blood drain.” Murmur fumbled through and found a wisdom bracelet. “Here. You take this.”
Veranon’s expression changed, and he laughed. “I feel sort of petty, but you know I also think we all deserve something. We took a lot of dying turns.”
She knew he didn’t mean to, but a part of Murmur felt guilty. They’d all have died a lot less, if she’d just been able to fucking die. While they’d all hit thirty-one except Exbo, they were still going to be a chunk behind her in experience again. Would it really hurt for her to just give dying a try? If she didn’t try it, how could she know how to fix it?
“I know that look on your face. Stop it.” Sinister’s whisper was so close to her that Murmur jumped, blinking at her friend.
“Sorry. You know me too well.”
“Nope.” Sinister shook her head vehemently. “Just well enough.”
Both rangers got a new bow, Mellow a cauldron-summoning staff, and Jinna got an amazing agility armband that made him dance a little jig. Rash got an avoidance ring, and Murmur pulled a gorgeous silver circlet out of the chest with plus twenty to Charisma, plus twenty to her mana pool, plus ten to her Intelligence, and plus ten to MA.
“Wow, Mur. That’s fucking pretty,” Rashlyn said, a ghost of awe in her voice.
“Yeah.” A smile spread across her face, and Mur inspected the filigree silver work for a few moments before moving onto the middle chest.
In it was a hammer, beastlord only, and an axe, tank only. The final two members of the group taken care of, Murmur reached down to pet Snowy, her hand resting on his comforting head. He’d pulled her out of danger so many times during their recent battles that it felt like he was a part of her.
“Shall we gate then?”
She didn’t even wait for an answer.
Verendus swirled into view around her, depositing Murmur and snowy softly near the fountain. Her gaze fell on the dwarf with the horn, and she could swear there was a small smile etched onto its face, almost hidden behind the beard, that wasn’t there before.
Congratulations. You have connected one of the mysteries of Somnia. Your Mental Acuity pool increases permanently by a total of ten. Your mental fortitude stands you in good stead. Now to start piecing together the rest of the puzzle. You know you want to.
She was so tired, Murmur laughed at the prompt. Level thirty-one, huh? Level thirty spells could wait. Her friends appeared around her, waved once, and began the logging out sequence. All except Sinister who stayed by her side until they disappeared. Well, and except for Exbo who was back up at the mountain kiting group mobs.
“I think I should log out, Sin.” Murmur said the words quietly, unsure of her friend’s response.
But Sinister never failed to exceed expectations. She looped her arms around Mur’s waist and gave her a tight squeeze. “I think that’s a good idea.”
Murmur leaned into Sin, oddly less awkward than she’d expected given their height difference. “Thank you. For always being there no matter how stubborn and irritating I can get.”
“Hah!” Sin said, squeezing harder. “You know it’s mutual, right?”
“Yeah. You’re right. You can be irritating too.”
Sinister affected shocked indignation and laughed that over-tired silly laugh.
