Interphase (5 page)

There he is.

David smirked and approached the pair. "Planning on joining us anytime soon?"

The rogue glared at him and fingered his daggers. "Careful, wizard. It can be unhealthy to interrupt someone's conversation."

David chuckled. "I'm sure you can find someone else to play with." He fixed the woman with a hard look. "Well?"

"I was just having a bit of fun," Lucas's character muttered, in a decidedly masculine voice. David doubled over with laughter, while the rogue suddenly looked stricken.

"Wait, you… you're not…? Aww man!"

Still laughing, David gave a mocking bow. "If you'll excuse us?" The rogue sprinted away, expressions of disgust floating back on the night wind. "I think you just traumatized that guy."

Lucas followed David back toward the tavern. "No,
you
did. Everything was fine until you showed up. All I had to do was smile and occasionally nod at him."

"Next time, don't keep us waiting." David eyed his brother, who chuckled ruefully. "Still having trouble with Nadarra's voice settings?"

"How'd you ever guess?"

"You know, it'd be a lot easier to just let V-Net assign a female voice to your character, rather than trying to modulate your own."

Lucas scoffed. "Yeah, that'd be a great test of my programming skills. Thanks, but no thanks. I'll get it working myself."

David chuckled as they stepped into the tavern.

Soon the four of them were seated around the table. At Jessica's request, David told them about the accident, meeting Analara, and everything he could remember about her module.

When he finished, Thomas leaned back in thought, while Lucas pelted David with questions about the Crash Storm. "Geez. Mom would totally freak out if she knew what happened," he remarked.

"Which is exactly why you're going to keep your mouth shut," David told him.

"Hey, I know how to keep a secret, bro. As for the module, I can't place it."

Thomas shook his head. "I can not recall seeing a green sky either, and the forest's description is too general to serve as an effective identifier."

David clenched his staff, trying hard not to show his disappointment.

"Actually," Jessica interjected, "I know of a place in Eternity that sounds similar. It's called the Ghostwood. It's a high-level area, but with our party we should be able to traverse it. Even if it's not the place we're looking for, maybe it'll help you get a better visual, David."

"Sounds like a good place to start," Lucas said. "Let's hit it!"

***

Jessica was glad Celas was skilled in portal magic. She transported the group as close to the Ghostwood as her abilities allowed. They arrived on a grassy knoll bordering the eaves of a small forest. The moonlight shone on a stream that cut a crooked path toward a line of foothills in the distance.

She pointed to the hills. "That's where we're headed. The Ghostwood lies beyond those."

Thomas looked out over the landscape. "I've not yet had a chance to explore this region." He smiled at Jessica. "Is my lady making expeditions without her knight protector?"

She returned the smile. "I'm quite capable of protecting myself, you know."

With a chuckle, Thomas turned toward the river, and Jessica stole a glance at David. She'd become skilled at reading his body language without being noticed. The rigid lines of his shoulders and the way his jaw was clenched were all too familiar. Inwardly she sighed. He wouldn't say anything, of course, despite how he felt. Sometimes that was what saddened her most.

"Well, we know where we're off to. Let's go," Lucas said. Jessica examined him out of the corner of her eye and wondered if he was aware of the group's emotional entanglements.

"There may be trouble on the way," she said. "The area is filled with dreadwolves and familiars."

"Any spell casters?" David asked.

"Some."

He gripped his staff and concentrated on the lion head. White fire flashed in its eyes, and the silver figure opened its jaws as if to roar. A fine mist flowed from its mouth and surrounded the party, enveloping each of them in a suppression shield.

Jessica examined his handiwork. Fantasy settings may not have been David's preference, but he did make a fine sorcerer.

"Shall we away?" Thomas asked.

They set off at a brisk pace, following the stream toward the northern hills. As she suspected, a band of sinister familiars attacked them before they had gone far. A pair of dreth mages stood behind the demons and launched fireballs at the party. David's shield deflected the burning projectiles, and Jessica fired an enchanted arrow into each dreth before they could cast again.

Thomas and Lucas waded into the familiars and carved a wide path through the chattering demons. With most of their fellows dead, the survivors turned and ran to the forest.

Jessica couldn't tell if word of their presence spread or if there were no monsters near the river, but the group was left alone for the next hour.

The moon was high in the sky when she pointed to the west. A grim cloud bank blotted out the stars on the horizon. "Perfect time for a storm," Lucas muttered. "If we move quickly, we should be able to reach the hills before it hits."

David stared at the sky, unmoving.

"Bro? Come on. Watching the clouds isn't gonna make them go away."

"David?" Jessica grasped his wrist to get his attention and froze. His pulse hammered beneath her fingertips.

"Not again," he whispered.

Lightning flashed in the distance, and thunder rolled across the sky, loud enough she had to cover her ears.

"Get under the trees," David yelled. "
Now
! Find cover and get low. It'll be on us in seconds."

Jessica saw what he meant. The roiling clouds moved unimaginably fast, surging like a tidal wave and roaring with rising intensity.

They ran for the edge of the forest and split up to hide, staying within sight of each other. A gale tore past, howling over their heads and ripping branches from the trees.

"Get ready," David shouted over the wind.

The Storm broke over them. Jessica ducked under a tree root and plugged her ears. All around her, blazing spears of light shattered the ground. Thomas threw himself flat against another tree, barely dodging a bolt. Lucas broke cover and dashed to David's tree, clearly terrified.

As quickly as the Storm had come, it passed them by. One by one they emerged and checked on each other. Luckily, no one had been injured. Several blackened lumps lay scattered about where lightning had ripped code fragments from the environment.

David released a nervous breath. "That could have been a hell of a lot worse."

"Was this similar to the one that struck before?" Thomas asked.

"To a degree. The other was larger, and I was in the air when it hit. Without cover, they're a real nightmare."

Jessica saw movement out of the corner of her eye. An enormous creature with matted black fur slunk from behind a tree: a dreadwolf. It growled at her, revealing rows of glistening teeth. Sitting back on its haunches, it let loose a full throated howl. More dark figures approached behind it.

David stepped in front of her. "I'll deal with the two on the right." His staff-head began to glow. "This looks like it will be rough."

Jessica nodded and moved away, drawing two of the larger beasts away from David. "Thomas, keep the front wolf busy," she said. "Lucas and I will take its fellow."

Quickly Thomas sheathed his greatsword, unstrapped the shield on his back and drew a longsword. He gave a holy battle cry to strengthen the party and leapt forward.

The beasts attacked David first. They dashed at him from the trees, and he barely got his spell off in time. A pit of thick mud opened under their feet, miring them in sludge.

The pack-leader flung itself against Thomas's shield, forcing him backward. Jessica cast a quick resilience enchantment on him and fell back to gain distance on the final wolf. Lucas flicked his twin scimitars at it, opening several wounds. Enraged, the beast snapped at him, only to be impaled by Jessica's holy arrow. It gave a short whine and fell to the ground, dead.

One of David's wolves broke free from the mud and sprang at him with fangs bared. Blue fire streamed from the mouth of his staff and ignited the creature's fur. It howled and rolled on the forest floor, trying to extinguish the flames. Lucas rushed to the thrashing beast and severed its head with a clean stroke.

Jessica turned to the snared wolf. She loosed an arrow before the mud dissolved, then raised a holy barrier in front of her. The creature slammed into the shield and slumped down, dazed. A lance of magical ice tore through its body, pinning it against a tree. She gave David a quick nod and ran to aid Thomas.

Only the pack-leader remained. Thomas had scored several wounds, but they were mere scratches in the beast's gnarled hide. Noting the party's approach, he struck with his shield, bashing the wolf repeatedly on the snout. The creature snarled in fury and slammed its body into Thomas's shield, sending it flying. He struck at the exposed head, but the beast ignored the blade and sank its teeth into his shoulder. Lucas dashed behind the wolf, slicing the tendons in its hind legs as David launched a kinetic blast that hurled the creature away. Jessica channeled her power into Thomas, sealing his wounds, and launched a spear of holy fire to help drive the beast back. With a shout, Thomas drew his gleaming greatsword and focused his power into the blade. An immense beam of light leapt from the sword into the maddened wolf. It erupted in pure flame, and a pained howl was all they heard before the creature vanished in smoke.

The battle was over.

Even Thomas was breathing heavily from exertion. Despite her fatigue, Jessica savored the thrill of victory. Suddenly a gasp from Lucas broke the calm. He pointed at the corpses of the fallen wolves. The group watched as they dissolved into puddles of ooze, flowed together in a formless mass, and merged into a single great sphere of darkness. The globe rose above them, and faint traces of electricity crackled over its surface.

The ground trembled. Slowly, a massive gray shape grew inside the swelling orb. It sheared through the black liquid with scythe-arms edged in diamond. Dark material dribbled down the scaled body and fused itself into a muscular tail. The monstrosity towered over their heads, extended a needle-toothed jaw, and shrieked.

There would be no running from such a horror. As one, the party prepared for battle.

Chapter 6

"What the hell is that thing?" Lucas yelled.

The monster roared and sliced through a clump of trees. David ran to protect Jessica, but Thomas reached her first. He wrapped his arms around her as the falling trunks crashed against his armor.

David ground his teeth and leapt back when the creature struck at him. Its bladed arm tore chunks of dirt from the ground. "It must have been the Storm," he shouted. "The code is mutating and acting on its own."

"If a battle is what it desires," Thomas said, hefting his greatsword, "then that is what it shall receive."

The monster hoisted its snakelike mass to tower over them. With a fierce battle cry, Thomas charged the exposed underbelly and scored a jagged cut. Shrieking, it slammed its body down, knocking him to the ground. It raised its bulk again and prepared to crush him, but a silver arrow exploded against it before it could fall. Dazed, it crouched and hissed at Jessica. Thomas rolled away and got to his feet.

David hurled a salvo of icy spears, but they shattered on the creature's scales. It turned away from Jessica and lashed out at him with both razor scythes. He raised a wall of barrier energy before the blades struck, but the shield fragmented on impact, throwing him backward. He rolled away from another slash and ducked behind a tree. On the other side of the monster, Jessica's normal arrows bounced harmlessly off its hide.

"This is impossible," she fumed. "Something like this should only exist in the deep dungeons of Eternity." One of her arrows sank between the creature's scales, eliciting a screech of rage. "It's completely against the rules of the module!"

"You can try and talk it out of here if you want," Lucas retorted, "but I don't think it's gonna listen."

The monster advanced on David. "It seems resistant to magic," Thomas shouted. "Fall back, David." He charged it from behind, swinging his greatsword with all of his strength. The blade tore into its tail, and the putrid flesh parted with a spray of black ichor. Shrieking, it whipped its head around. Its eyeless gaze pierced him with a malevolent will. Twisting its wounded tail, it wrenched the blade from his grip, drew back and slammed his chest, hurling him into a tree. The creature focused its attention back on David, opened its maw and roared.

With a wild cry, Lucas dashed toward its head and swung both scimitars in a high arc. They bit into the soft flesh of its throat. Gurgling, it swatted him away with the flat of its scythe-blade. He sprang to his feet, ducked under the monster's arm and attacked its plated shoulder.

David refused to back down. He cast any spell that came to mind. Fireballs, lightning bolts, ice spears, all of it fizzled impotently on the creature's scales. This was ridiculous. Nothing he'd ever encountered was this impervious to his abilities.