Path of Dragons

“Paradise. That’s what he said,” Sadie spat. “He’s been living on some island sipping mojitos while we’ve been fighting for our lives against nightmare monsters!”

“I don’t think that’s the whole story, bro,” said Dat, adjusting a harness that held a brace of throwing knives. Concealed beneath his long, leather coat was an arsenal of weapons for every occasion, and impressively, he knew how to employ each and every one of them to great effect. Sadie had seen him training, but more importantly, she had seen him in a fight. Despite his easygoing demeanor, he was as ruthless a combatant as anyone she’d known.

Which had been more than necessary back home.

“It’s what he said, Dat,” she insisted, seeing to her own preparations. They were set to leave as soon as the Druid returned from the infirmary, where he said he was once again healing people. But Sadie had seen his true nature, and so, she knew he had to have ulterior motives. Perhaps that was how he had progressed. Maybe that was the source of all his levels. Either way, she knew it was no selfless act. Someone like him was incapable of that. Not with that cloud of sin that followed him around.

Dat shrugged. “I don’t know what to say, except that nobody had it easy,” he pointed out. “Especially someone his level. Maybe you’re being too hard on him, bro. He seems like a good guy.”

“Looks often deceive.”

That was a popular axiom even before the world had transformed, but Sadie had never realized how factual it was. With Sense of Sin, she was exposed to the truth every single minute of each day. If anything, the common adage understated the situation. Human beings were, at their very core, evil. There was so much filth clinging to even the most innocent-looking person that it was difficult to look past.

Sadie tried.

And often, she failed.

Thankfully, her closest companion wasn’t as stained as most others, which gave her a little peace. Dat was no innocent, but he was a better man than anyone else she’d met.

The conversation lapsed as the pair continued their preparations. Sadie had an enchanted backpack that would hold about a month’s worth of supplies, and she’d spent a few hours of the previous day restocking what she’d used on her trek to the Nexus. So, she had plenty of food and water, a couple of camping implements, and the tools necessary to maintain her armor and weapons.

Because of their high grade, they didn’t need much maintenance, but out of habit, she still went through the motions. It did little good, but she found some comfort in the daily task of polishing her armor and sharpening her blades.

When there were no more preparations, they were forced to wait almost half an hour until the Druid returned. When he finally did, he did so in the company of the dwarf who would be the last member of their party. Like all dwarves, he was short, stout, and bearded. He was clad in worn leather armor, and he carried a couple of hatchets at his belt. In addition, he had quite a few other knives sheathed across his body. And finally, he carried a bow, with a quiver or arrows at his hip.

Surprisingly, Sense of Sin was mostly quiet concerning the dwarf. His misdeeds caused a slight haze that clung to him, but it was far more diffuse than anyone else she’d met, save for Dat. Instantly, Sadie liked him.

“This is Kurik,” Elijah said, gripping the dwarf’s shoulder. “Hunter extraordinaire.”

“Don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no ‘extraordinaire’,” the dwarf said. “But I’m a fair trapper, a decent woodsman, and a good tracker. Hope that makes me useful to this expedition.”

“He’s being modest,” Elijah insisted.

“I ain’t. Don’t even know why I’m here. ‘Tween you three, you can do anythin’ I can do and probably better,” the dwarf grumbled.

“I’m Dat, bro. You look pretty swole. You work out? What’s your routine?”

“Routine?”

“Lifting, bro,” Dat said, miming doing an overhead press.

“Uh…”

“I don’t think he works out, Dat,” Elijah pointed out with an infuriating grin.

“Ah. All natural, then. Farm strong.”

“I ain’t never worked on no farm.”

“That’s not what that means,” Elijah said. “He’s saying –”

“Can we please move on?” interjected Sadie, tiring of the exchange. “We have a long way to go, and though it seems like we have a lot of time to accomplish our goals, I suspect that we will need every hour.”

Elijah said, “She’s right. Best that we hit the ol’ dusty trail.”

Sadie glared at him, but she didn’t respond to his ridiculously hokey idiom. Instead, she just grabbed her backpack and the Sword of Morning from where it was leaning against the wall before she turned on her heel and marched out the door. In the background, she heard the Druid ask, “What did I say?”

She didn’t stick around long enough to listen to anyone’s answer. It was early enough that the streets of the Nexus were mostly empty, which meant that she had a clear path all the way to the edge of town. Sadie didn’t break her stride. Nor did she look back. But soon enough, the others joined her, lagging only a little behind. Once they were at the edge of the jungle, Elijah caught up to her and said, “You need to let us do our job.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.

“It means that if you go marching into the jungle without letting us scout the way, you’re going to end up fighting for every step you take,” he pointed out. “You can probably handle it, but like you said, we’re on the clock here.”

Sadie very much wanted to argue, but not because of what he said. Rather, it was that annoying tone of voice that suggested he took nothing seriously. And of course, the cloud of sin billowing off of him, filling her nostrils with its stink.

“Very well,” she said.

After that, they established a pattern. For the most part, they would rely on Dat and Kurik as scouts, leaving Sadie and Elijah together. That strategy made sense, too, what with Elijah being the strongest healer and Sadie having no skill in stealth or wilderness traversal. But that didn’t mean she liked it.

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Oddly, though, it was Elijah who objected, saying that he could cover more ground than any of them. Eventually, he was overruled, which clearly affected his mood.

The strategy worked well, though, and over the first day of travel, they weren’t forced to fight anything they couldn’t handle. They all played their parts, with Sadie taking on the role of the defender, with Kurik and Dat adding damage while Elijah focused on healing and controlling the battlefield with his restrictive roots spell.

On the second day, they seemed to cross a line into much more dangerous territory. And on the third, they found themselves embroiled in a battle against almost two dozen wraiths.

Sadie rushed forward, using Call of the Crusader to capture the horde’s attention. They abandoned any notion of attacking anyone else, and instead, rushed toward her. She activated Consecrated Shield, then Bulwark of the Faithful. The first was an ethereal shield meant for allies, which she placed on Dat, while the second was a similar concept that was only usable on herself.

Bulwark of the Faithful

Create a barrier of faith to shield yourself from damage. When it is broken, it empowers the Crusader, increasing physical attributes by a significant amount. Damage absorbed dependent on Ethera attribute.

It was her bread-and-butter ability, and the one that allowed her to effectively do her job. She had a host of offensive skills she could use against undead and demons, but they were entirely ineffective against the living. But with Bulwark of the Faithful, combined with Call of the Crusader and Consecrated Shield, she could effectively play the role of a frontline defender.

She also brought non-insignificant healing abilities to the table, as well as a couple of buffs that would enhance her allies’ durability. But for now, she could only rely on her attributes, equipment, and expertise to see her through. Fortunately, Sadie was well-versed in battle, and she swept the Sword of Morning out in a wide arc, slicing through the first line of wraiths. It wasn’t enough to kill them, but it did send a spray of white blood to splatter her immediate surroundings. More importantly, it maintained her advantage of reach.

For their part, the monsters were still under the influence of Call of the Crusader, and they never even considered employing anything but swarm tactics. Unfortunately, there were enough of them to make that an effective strategy. They rushed past her guard, taking quite a few wounds along the way, before piling atop her. Bulwark of the Faithful proved a perfect shield against their attacks, but Sadie was forced to abandon her greatsword in favor of much smaller blades. Even as they bit and clawed at the shield, her arm pumped, repeatedly stabbing into the mass of monsters with her dagger. The slim blade easily pierced their skin, but they were durable enough that it would take hundreds of such attacks to finish them off.

Thankfully, she was not alone.

Even as she was buried beneath a veritable mountain of blue-and-white monsters, her allies fell upon them. Dat employed his own skills, ripping into the creatures’ backs with characteristic brutality. Most of his abilities were focused on scouting, but he was far from defenseless. More importantly, from an offensive standpoint, he wasn’t nearly as limited as she was, and he could kill living creatures just as easily as he could tear through undead.

Kurik was less effective, though that was expected, given his focus as a trapper. He had a few abilities that made him a passable hunter, but they were far from powerful. Still, he was a solid combatant who could hold his own.

It was not enough, though, and after only a few more moments, Bulwark of the Faithful shattered. When it did, Sadie felt an influx of Strength and Dexterity. She heaved, and the pile of monsters shifted. Pushing even harder, she exploded from the pile, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

The creatures recovered quickly, bounding off the surrounding trees and resuming their swarming tactics. However, Call of the Crusader ran its course a second later, releasing them from its ethereal pull. At first, the monsters didn’t alter their course. However, after only a couple more seconds, the echoes of the skill faded and they began to turn their attention on the more vulnerable members of the party.

Sadie roared, lashing out with her sword. But the monsters were quick and coordinated, and one leaped upon Kurik, wrapping the dwarf in its deadly and draining embrace. She used Consecrated Shield upon him, but it burst after only a second. And to Sadie’s horror, the ethera that should have converted into a wave of healing was absorbed by the wraith, nullifying the ability.

She stumbled in shock, which was all the opening her enemies needed. Three more wraiths charged, and before she could respond, they wrapped themselves around her. Without Bulwark of the Faithful protecting her, the monsters could finally employ their most devastating ability against her.

Sadie gasped as she felt an unholy pull on her core. Ethera rushed out of her in a torrent, seeping through her pores and filling the air with a blue cloud. The wraiths chittered in glee while she screamed. Her Strength faded a little with every passing second.

There was only one choice.

One option loomed large in her mind. If she was to win the battle, she would be forced to employ her most powerful ability. She needed a Miracle.

But would it be enough? Even if it was, using it so soon after arrival did not bode well for the rest of the Trial.

As she felt her power draining away, Sadie continued to fight, using every tool at her disposal. She stabbed and kicked, and she even used her healing abilities. But it was all useless.

Just as she was on the verge of using her Miracle, everything changed.

Suddenly, there was another monster in their midst, and this one was much larger, stronger, and more savage than the wraiths. Vaguely, it was shaped like a primate, but instead of fur, it was covered in thick, black-and-red scales. Jagged spikes grew from its shoulders and formed a crown upon its reptilian head.

The thing was absolutely enormous and densely packed with bulging muscles. If it weighed less than a thousand kilograms, Sadie would have been incredibly surprised. She could feel the primal power wafting off of the beast as it ripped one of the wraiths away from her body and heaved it into a tree. It shattered the trunk, and when the monster fell to the ground, broken and bleeding, it did not rise.

It was the opening Sadie needed, and she managed to stab down at the wraith clinging to her leg. Meanwhile, the scaled creature shimmered with ethera, then transformed into another horrifying monster. This one was much sleeker, quadruped, and with a long snout that resembled a crocodile’s. And when it moved, it did so with feline grace, snapping its jaws around the final wraith clinging to Sadie’s body and ripping an enormous chunk from its torso.

Sadie followed the monster’s attack up with a stab from her dagger. The blade pierced the wraith’s head, and as it seized, she kicked it away. Free from the drain, she was free to lay into the remaining wraiths with all her might. More, Call of the Crusader came off cooldown, and she once again let it loose. The wraiths responded, and the others tore through them without further issue.

But the shapeshifting monster was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Elijah had taken its place, casting out heals with every passing second. Even though she hadn’t seen it for herself, the implications were clear. The shapeshifting monster hadn’t disappeared. Indeed – it remained in their midst, having only taken on a different form.

Finally, Sadie ended the final wraith’s life by hacking through its neck and sending its head rolling free. Then, there was only silence.

Elijah approached, asking, “Are you injured?”

“What?”

“Never mind,” he said, casting a spell. A moment later, she felt it fall upon her, sending a pulsing jolt of healing through her. Twenty seconds after that, she felt another. “Feel better?”

“I…I do.”

“Great. That was a pretty close call. Those things are like ethera vampires. If you let them in, they’re going to drain you,” he said. “Alone, they’re not that dangerous, but they also tend to come in packs. So, keep an eye out for that.”

“You saved me,” she said.

He shrugged. “Surprising, I know,” he said, giving her that same infuriating grin he seemed to wear so often. “I’m sure you’d do the same for me, though.”

Sadie didn’t respond, mostly because she wasn’t entirely certain that his statement was true. On the surface, she wanted to believe she would do whatever she had to do to keep her allies alive. But her disdain for the Druid was so powerful that she wasn’t certain what she would do if she was the only thing standing between his life and death.

Sighing, she said, “Let us see to the others.”

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