Ashes of the Fallen

A blinding white explosion of frost soon covered us in our entireties. The impacts of numerous spells colliding and smashing into my body made me recoil and grimace as the pain shot through me. Heat dissipated entirely as the area around us began to freeze over. Only a second had passed, and I looked down at the two women beneath me as they appeared chilly but safe, then turned my head back to look at the rats once again.

Their hands were aglow, once more.

Nearly immobile from being hit countless times, I picked the girls up and trudged forward before the familiar noise hit my ears again. Repeating the process, I dropped to the ground as frost bolts impacted the walls around us and a few found their mark. The rats couldn't see the moment of impact, what with all of the explosions of ice.

That saved us.

They didn't know we were evading some of their spells.

My health though, was evidence that we didn't dodge them all.

"Run," I mumbled with what little strength I had left.

Kate turned and hesitated, not wanting to leave me as Selene got back up and began to sprint. I nodded once at Kate, and she understood. As both girls ran down the pass, I tilted my head back in order to see the wave of frost bolts coming.

It was glorious.

A dazzling array of blue and white.

Fluttering ice trails left behind in their wake, as the frost bolts traveled along the waves of the air. Simultaneous frost bolts, too numerous to count.

All headed my way.

Standing up with arms wide open, I embraced them.

All of them.

And then the world turned white, cold… and I struggled to breathe, but only for a split second. The pain disappeared and the white world turned black. The world before me morphed, twisted and shaped into one of odd grays and blues, hazy and wavy, blurry, amongst other things.

Yet again, I had died.

Another resounding success.

Staring at the sky, the river was moving east as I tried to make out the area I was in.

Graveyards in The Dragon's Wrath were generally limited to villages, towns, and cities. Out in the wilderness, that meant a death could lead to a corpse run of multiple hours. I didn't have multiple hours, and like I thought, I was back home.

Accepting the resurrection penalty, I resurrected in Dragon's Breach.

I was hours away from Kate and Selene now.

"Selene, did you two make it out?" I asked telepathically with the Soul Link.

"Yes we're outside now, are you still in there Sigurd?" she replied immediately.

"No, I'm back in Dragon's Breach," I stated somewhat angrily.

"What, how?" she questioned, reasonably. "You were behind us… how?"

Shaking my head, I quickly changed my gear at the cabin and went with the lightest outfit I could manage, only taking the small one-handed axe and a dagger for weapons.

Leaving the rest behind, I started to run.

"Take the creek back, I'll meet you soon."

"We will be fine, take your time," replied Selene after a slight hesitation.

It would be dark in two hours, and even though they would most likely be safe by themselves, I felt guilty. I was overconfident and figured we could take a few dirty rats, little did I know that they were far more intelligent than goblins.

They played me, like a fool.

Baited me and trapped me with my arrogance.

They weren't just rats after all, they had a name.

Rattanorv.

Chapter 57: The Trade Voyage

(Monday, August 9th Game Day / Monday, March 15th Real Day)

"Eindride, have you seen Roald anywhere?" I yelled out from the edge of the dock, having reached the end of my patience when it came to looking for the aloof trade master. Eindride was one of the two sailors that doubled as fishermen and had been prepping the ship for our first voyage along with a handful of others.

Roald, our trade master, was nowhere to be seen.

"I have yet to see him," answered Eindride with a boisterous shout that echoed off the stone walls a few feet away. "He has a knack for disappearing when it comes time to do the heavy lifting… always. His most dependable trait, as you know, Sigurd."

"Yeah," I replied quietly, with a nod for thanks.

We were already behind schedule, what with losing almost two days with the journey to the Rattanorv cave that ended in defeat. The girls made it about a third of the way before I met up with them, and the rest of the walk back was filled with random hunting to pass the time. It was a waste of precious daylight, but, I guess there was something gained from it.

In the end, I learned the location of a future Open Dungeon, solely for me.

Well, not solely, but no one else was likely to find it out here.

I mean, this was a wasteland… people didn't go on nature walks this far north.

Thinking of Selene, I decided to open up a line of communications to aid in my search. "Hey Selene, have you seen Roald anywhere? He's shirking his duties again."

"Ah he's by the cattle pen, talking to Kaia, I can see him," she replied.

"Perfect, watch him for me, will you."