Chapter 18: Vaults, Trolls, and a hint of a Gary Stu
Silver sonic energy strummed from the blade of Boss' axe, sending shockwaves down Ranger's sabre each time the two weapons clashed. Each time they swung, the resulting 'clang' noise seemed to have a new track added; one that reverberated like an electric guitar - one that continually forced Ranger back.
Is this a different power of his? Or is it just an extension of that....distortion? Ranger thought to himself, knowing full well that if he didn't crack the code as to how Boss' abilities worked, he was doomed.
But it seemed that, at least now, there was no need for him to win. If a blade cleanly passing through a body, and said body being perfectly fine afterwards was shocking, then the next action shocked Ranger out of his stupor.
The moment he gained a significant distance from Boss in retreat, there was a flash of lightning and a blast of thunder that rocketed the streets. Both combatants cringed, hiding their eyes behind their arms instinctively to avoid the sudden glare of light erupting in front of them.
Slowly, the light died down, and as Boss' arm simultaneously fell away from his face, he noticed that his opponent was now kneeling on the ground, head down.......towards the new figure who had appeared where the lightning bolt had struck. Standing at the center of a clean ring of charred earth, golden lights dancing across his outfit, for a moment, even Boss was tempted to kneel before this holy figure.
Just a moment.
The figure completely ignored Ranger and stared straight at Boss. Boss gulped; his stomach immediately queasy, as though there was a sudden revelation that an insect was crawling up your back, and any sudden movements would get an unfortunate sting as a consequence.
"I've seen enough," the figure said, though whether that sound came from a mouth or from the area around them, nobody in the vicinity could tell. If Boss' own voice could be described like the hiss of a snake, then this could very well be the Elephant - loud, unyielding, unmoving.
Potentially destructive.
He turned towards Boss.
"I offer you a chance."
Boss blinked.
* * *
Drizzy_Dan blinked. Where was he? Moments ago he'd been in the middle of a fight, arms and legs flailing against an assailant, and the next thing he knew he was now.....
He looked up at the ground, and then he looked down at the sky.
I'm a barbecue, he thought for a second before immediately attempting to stretch his arms against the ropes that wrapped him against a giant rod, to no avail.
Looking around, he realized that there were several other large rods, each of them stabbed into the ground. Ropes were wrapped around those rods as well, tying up every member of Drizzy's party.
Focusing his mind, the ex-mod began to recall the events prior that had led them into this situation.
20 minutes ago......
"Are we there yet?" "No." "Are we there yet?" "No."
"Are we-"
"No, and for the foreseeable future we don't be, so I think it'd be best if we simply focused on walking," Drizzy responded. With that, silence washed over the group once again, muting them apart from the gasps and grunts for air that they made as they continued to traverse the dangerous terrain. This time, they were travelling in a valley. All the mountains that surrounded them were jagged, as though they were crooked, rusted daggers stabbed through the ground. The valley itself, though, seemed fine; albeit full of dead grass, it still seemed to be a better route to take than atop the mountain ranges that surrounded them.
They travelled like that for a few minutes, until Drizzy noted in the corner of his eye - smoke. Smoke that wasn't expanding - that is, a controlled fire; and that meant people. Immediately he paused, his hand held up to signal towards the others behind him. Trained eyes immediately began to scour the region, looking for traps, dangers - anything of the sort. They were within a foresty region, the path they were taking going up and around small hills, so Drizzy wasn't exactly able to see everything. Trees and hills blocked the line of sight between them and the fire - and although the fire could be useful, it could also immediately shut down their travels through the realm of the banned.
"We advance slowly," he said, "And every step you take must be the exact same as the steps of the person before you."
He took a step forwards, hearing only the crunch of dead leaves beneath his foot. Another step.
Nothing seemed to come from the direction of the fire.
Slowly, Drizzy began to follow the path forwards, foraging the best tracks through the woods that would hopefully take them to a vantage point where they'd be able to see what was sustaining the fire.
* * *
"A chance to do what?" Boss muttered through gritted teeth, his weapon still raised.
Rather than answer the question, the figure tossed satchel towards Boss.
"Since it seems everybody has, in the fear, ran in unison away from here, there is nothing that I cannot limit from my words. Deep beneath 343iCF is a vault - hidden within which is a treasure I wish once again released for the world to experience. The first person to reach it, of course, would gain the biggest share." The word 'vault' had already net Boss' curiosity; so when the word 'treasure' had been uttered, Boss immediately knew that he had no chance of backing out.
Especially not when the person telling you seemed to be a god.
"The actual entrance for the vault is not reachable for you, but there is an alternate route. Within that bag is the map, and the key. Release the treasure for the world to revel in again. That is all." The figure turned, not a single beat missing from his speech's rhythm as he stepped towards Ranger, and yet another lightning bolt blasted the ground. In it's wake, there was no trace of both Ranger and the other figure.
Boss reached down and opened the bag, even as the other two 'Pricks' approached from behind him. Several objects were within, but placed at the top of the simple satchel was a datapad. The moment Boss' hands came into contact with it, it lit up, revealing a screen upon which there were several dots.
Squinting, Boss took a look again at the dots, looked at the other information on the screen to verify it's legitimacy, and immediately grit his teeth in annoyance and disgust.
"Idiots."
* * *
Nothing.
Eerily, as they approached the source of the smoke, there was nothing out of the ordinary - at least for being banned. No monsters howling. No weird bugs crawling around. No spambots. This felt too quiet to be real; watching his every step, gazing at everything around him, Drizzy was tense. There seemed to be nothing -
They turned the corner around a tree, and immediately gasped at the sight they saw.