1-60 Berserk

The world was still a bit blurry as Jaina tried to focus on what was happening around her. Two men had come to their rescue and now stood defiantly in the path of their enemies. One was a powerful lizard man with rippling muscles, the other something more akin to human but not quite. He had pale white skin with a gray hue and dark amber eyes. His hair was a crown of small spikes, with small pointed ears. He wore chains around his arms that appeared to be forged out of shadows that smoldered in the light.

Zorac pointed to the archer in the trees and told the man to pull her down. The gray man swung an arm, and a chain ending in a razor-sharp hook raced out. It tangled the shooter, and with a jerk, he plucked her from the branch, tossing her at Zorac's feet. She lifted an arm to scream as that spiked club came down with both hands lending strength to the blow. The gray man lashed at her, too, the hooks of his chains tearing her armor open. She turned to get up, staggering to her feet as Zorac landed another blow, tossing her into the forest like a bundle of trash. Jaina sat there stunned as he turned to face the other aggressors and tightened his grip on the club.

“Leave now, and you can keep your gear,” Zorac said threateningly.

“The notice said nothing about a lizard man and a gray walker,” a woman in white and blue said as she gestured to them with her staff.

“They must be here to steal the kills,” A short man with a spear said.

The stone man in metal plates stamped a foot to get Zoarac's attention and pointed his hammer at the lizard man. “We ran these fools down. The XP and treasure is ours.”

“I don’t want the XP or the treasure,” Zorac said as he locked eyes with the giant warrior. “I want to stop you from killing my friends.”

“What are you doing?” the stone-skinned man asked as Evalynn backed away, heaving for breath from her exertion. “You aren't actually going to defend them?”

“Of course, he considers them friends,” one of the women said. “He's a filthy beastman like that gnoll we killed. Their kind always sticks together like rats.”

“That’s because only a beastman will tolerate another beastman,” one of them said.

“These people aren’t slavers,” Zorac said as he ignored their sharp words. “Those notices about what they are doing are lies.”

“Who cares,” the dagger woman laughed. “They have treasure and experience; that's all that matters to us.”

“And you will just add to the total,” the stone man said with a smile as his hammer began to glow blue. They took a threatening stance, preparing to attack as a group while Zorac stood before them defiantly and smiled.

“So be it,” Zorac said as he lifted his club.

Jaina was awe-struck as Zorac rushed in, his club blurring as it turned into a cloud of clubs, all battering the giant man. Evalynn moved to stand at his side, hoping his help would turn the tide. The gray walker lashed out with long chains, swinging his hooked blades with deadly accuracy. Skills and powers went off like fireworks at a display as Zorac used a taunt to turn foes his way.

Jaina climbed over Gisley and pressed her lips to the motionless fairy. She tried again to heal her before it was too late, taxing her already low stamina. She glanced back to see Zorac taking the brunt of the beating as he struggled to drive the mass of players back. Tears came to Jaina's eyes as she poured more healing into Gisley, but finally, the fairy opened her eyes and reached up with a weak hand.

“Did we die?” Gisley asked, not yet aware of what was going on around them.

“Gisley, get up!” Jaina pleaded. “We are still holding on. Zorac and a friend came to save us but they are outnumbered.”

Gisley sat up slowly to see Chandice on her hands and knees, pointing to the battle with one hand to send two imps into the fray. The main battle was a collision of two warriors, one a mountain of metal and stone, the other of scale and muscle. She immediately recognized Jaina's lover but hadn't a clue who the gray person was. Still, he was fighting beside Evalynn and Zorac, so she knew who her friends were.

“Help me up,” Gisley said as she still suffered from weakness. She saw the arrows and spells flying from the tree line and immediately blinded the area with a cloud of swirling glitter.

[lvl 10 Lunar Fairy Skill: Glitter storm] Create a five to twenty meter cloud of swirling glitter that blinds foes that rely on traditional sight to see. Lasts up to ten minutes.

Then she turned on Evalynn, who was barely keeping her feet, the wounds finally taking their toll. She raised a cupped hand and blew out a stream of glitter before uttering the words. “I love you.”

[lvl 20 lunar fairy skill: blessing of love] Bless a target with a complete recovery of health, mana, stamina, and special power bars. All bars are increased by 20% for 12 hours. It can only be used once per day.

Evalynn glowed with white light, then surged with renewed vigor, exploding into special moves and powers. Gisley wasn't done yet as she finally looked to see the full scope of the battle and realized they were still outnumbered. They had three solid fighters against a dozen, and Zorac was already taking a beating.

She threw back her head and called out in a musical voice as a cloud of light coalesced around her. It became a swirl of butterflies and they raced out like bullets, striking foes in all directions as if they had been shot with arrows.

[lvl 35 Lunar Fairy Skill: Swam of dancing light] With a sweet call, you create a cloud of butterflies or moths if at night that swarms about you for a few seconds, then race outward in all directions. They strike foes as if magical arrows, doing piercing damage followed by magical force damage. The range is ten yards, and the number of targets hit is a maximum of thirty. The fewer targets in range, the more times they will be hit to a maximum of five hits each.

Cries of rage went up at the sudden hail of deadly butterflies, but it still wasn't enough. Jaina could see that several of their numbers were healers and were hard at work undoing the damage Gisley caused. Jaina implored Gisley to put the healers to sleep so Gisley tried, dousing one of them with glitter only to have a magical bubble appear.

“She is shielded,” Gisley said. “I can’t do a thing to stop her.”

Jaina pressed her lips to Gisley again, determined to heal her enough to fight with her sword. Jaina's stamina was getting low, but maybe if Gisley could join the combat, it would be enough.

A powerful blow from the stone man's mallet staggered Zorac, and he nearly fell over. However, he quickly recovered and returned the blow, bending the man's armor with a massive strike from that heavy club.

“You beastmen are all filthy mongrels,” the man roared into Zorac’s face.

“Look, whose talking,” Zorac shouted back. “I don't recall a Rokerin being considered a polite race.”

“We look noble and pure,” the man shouted as he tried to land another blow. “Unlike your filthy animal form. The visitors should have made all beast races monster players.”

“So you kill people solely based on their appearance,” Zorac shouted back. “That makes you scum. You need somebody to hate to validate your existence. You have all the worst qualities of humanity.”

“It's just a game,” the woman with the magical daggers replied as she dashed in and cut Zorac twice. “And all we want is the experience. You had your chance to side with us. Now you can die with them.”

Zorac took another blow from that hammer and fell to the ground as Jaina got up to run to him. The gray walked wrapped Evalynn in chains and yanked her out of the way of a pillar of fire, then dived to intercept Jaina.

“No!” he said as he practically tackled her. “Just leave him be.”

“But they are going to kill him!” Jaina pleaded with renewed tears in her eyes.

“Oh, people are going to die, alright,” the man said as he looked back at Zorac as the heroes closed in on him. “But it isn't going to be who you think.”

Zorac had his back to the group as he got to his hand and knees, clutching his club as he took deep breaths.

“No more heroic talk?” the dagger woman asked. “Maybe you will learn to keep your mouth shut next time.”

“We tried to reason with you,” the giant man said as he stood over the beaten lizard man. “But you beastmen aren’t worth reasoning with.”

“No,” Zorac replied as his hands began to curl into fists. “You are the ones who aren’t worth reasoning with, and I am done playing with you.”

Zorac looked up, and Jaina met his gaze as she reached out a hand as if to save him. He silently mouthed the words I love you as red fire filled his eyes.

“What is this?” the wizard woman asked as a red glow covered Zorac’s body. He twitched and lurched as he began to laugh with a wicked rumbling cackle. The group stepped back as his skin began to crawl with red electricity, as the flames in his eyes intensified.

Jaina looked on in shock as he began to grow, his already powerful frame getting larger. Bone spikes tore through his skin at his shoulders, back, elbows and knuckles, even making a fan of spikes at the tip of his tail. He stood slowly, his powerful frame now a hulking mass of unrestrained muscle and bone.

“Oh crap!” the dagger woman said as she backed away from the titan. “Hes a friggan bone spike berserker!”

Zorac threw his arms out as he roared like a creature from some dark abyss and ran at the enemies with madness in his eyes. He towered head and shoulders over the stone warrior who was thrown from his feet by the first blow of that club.

Spells and arrows rained down on him, but he was driven mad by rage, shrugging off the blows as he ran down player after player, punching, biting, and pummeling them into paste. He used the woman in blue as a club, beating a dwarf to death with her limp body as Jaina and the others watched in awe.

“Stay here,” the gray walker urged as he got up. “Zorac has a little trouble with friend or foe when he goes berserk.” He lifted a hand and encased them in a bubble of shadows, hiding them from the monstrous frenzy of death going on across the field.

“What happened to him?” Jaina asked as she peeked through her fingers at the madness going on.

“Zorac's class can absorb damage and store it as rage,” the man explained. “Once he gets below twenty percent health he can use it a few ways. If he's fighting a large group and needs to soak a lot of damage, he can go berserk, making him near invulnerable and boosting his strength. It burns the rage quickly, but he's almost impossible to stop while he's in the state.”

“I have heard of this class before, but nobody plays it because it's unpredictable,” Evalynn said in awe. “He has no control over who he kills.”

“That's why we're hiding,” the gray walker said. “So long as he can't see us, he won't attack. We just need to wait here until the rage burns out.”

Jaina and the others watched as Zorac lived an elf by his face and slammed the head into a tree so hard the tree cracked, and blood sprayed through Zorac's fingers. The stone man got up and used a skill to boost his armor, but all it did was slow his death. Zorac was on him like a raging beast, biting, tearing, and punching with bone spikes. The man fell back and lifted a hand, pleading with Zorac to stop. Zorac bit the hand from his wrist, then dug his claws into the exposed throat before ripping it open. The giant fell with a gurgle, and the few remaining people ran for their lives. Zorac, driven wild with rage, ran after them vanishing into the trees. Jaina and the others sat horrified as they listened to desperate screams as he finished them off.

“I had no idea he was so dangerous,” Jaina said as she trembled. “He’s so kind and gentle.”

“He fancies himself a sort of vengeance warrior,” the man said. “He never uses berserk unless the people around him aren't worth a fair fight. He treats everyone with great respect, but he doesn't hesitate to intervene if he catches you treating people like they were treating you. It's gotten him into a lot of trouble in some areas. He once tore a paladin in half for tormenting a monster player. The local rulership branded him an outlaw, and we had to leave before things got ugly.”

“He’s a hero,” Evalynn sighed.

They waited under the protective veil of shadow, looking out over a scene of carnage. Eight player bodies lay strewn across the battlefield, mixed with dozens of gnolls. The air smelled of smoke from distant fires, and embers drifted on the wind. Broken trees and small craters were scattered about from a battle of unrivaled savagery.

A minute passed before a lone figure stepped out of the trees and walked toward the shadows. Jaina was relieved to see Zorac in his normal form but horrified to see his injuries. The man released the bubble as Jaina ran to Zorac, leaping into his arms to plant a healing kiss.

“Save your strength,” Zorac urged as he pried her away. “I will be fine. Where is Roric? We need to get you out of here.”

“He's dead,” Jaina cried and relayed the story of how they hunted him down like an animal. She told the two about Gisley's pond and all the destruction they had found. Zorac looked to his companion, who shook his head and said that waiting for the respawn would be risky business.

“He will respawn in the hidden village,” Jaina said and pointed toward their secret camp. “W will be safe there.”

“Jaina,” Zorac said as he put his hands on her arms. “We passed through towns that are organizing hunting parties to come here. Somebody has gone to massive lengths to stir up the local people and even leadership against you. They think you have found a way to enslave people against their will and are doing all sorts of horrible things to them.”

“Some local women have even gone missing,” his companion said. “Word is you have them in your holding cells.”

“And in a few hours, ten times as many people are going to be here,” Zorac urged.

“This is ridiculous,” Evalynn cried. “We only wanted to bring happiness to travelers.”

“Nobody cares about that,” Jaina groaned. “I spoke to those people at the inn. They don't care what the truth is. All that matters is they have a reason to kill us. We’re just XP and gold to be farmed and what we want is valueless to them.”

“This is why they hunt monster players to extinction,” the gray walker said as he pulled an arrow out of Chandice. “People don't care about the role they are supposed to play.”

Chandice cried out in pain as the arrow came free, causing Jaina to rush to her side and plant a kiss. She pushed her stamina to the brink, trying to restore enough to stop the bleeding but was quickly aided by Gisley, who produced another globe of healing. Their wounds began to mend slowly, stabilizing the group but not restoring them.

“I hate to be insensitive,” the gray walker said as he looked at Zorac. “But we can't stay here.”

“We can't leave without Roric,” Zorac said and looked around at the blasted landscape. “We will retreat to where he spawns and wait for him.”

“Do you think that’s going to remain hidden with so many searching the forest?” the man asked.

“Gorm,” Roric began as Jaina looked up, and the man saw the faces of the women. He noted the tears that streaked their cheeks and the pain burning in their eyes. “We can't leave without him.”

The man nodded as he couldn't deny their need but warned that they wouldn't get out without more fighting. The hero players would scour this region, searching every nook and cranny until they found where ever this village was hiding. With the volume of players they saw coming, they would likely be found before Roric respawned.

“Your name is Gorm?” Jaina asked as she helped Gisley up.

“It is indeed,” the man said with a curt bow.

“Thank you for helping us,” Jaina said and wiped an eye.

“Oh, the pleasure is all mine,” Gorm said. “I have been listening to this idiot talk about how beautiful and wonderful you are for days. I had to see it for myself, if at the very least so he could stop trying to describe it to me.”

Jaina smiled weakly and looked at Zorac as she shook her head. Obviously, he had much stronger feelings for her than even she suspected. “We will talk about this later.”

“What? I was just telling the truth,” Zorac protested as he swept Chandice, who was the weakest of the group, into his arms. “Now, lead us to the camp.”

“Oh, what about Roric’s magic spear,” Gisley said. “He dropped it where he died.”

“He will have to get a new one,” Zorac replied. “Going out to look for it will put us all at risk.”

“He's right,” Evalynn agreed. “We must reach the camp and fortify it. We have to hold out until Roric respawns.” She lifted Gisley and led the way, with Jaina walking beside Zorac. She looked down as the pain and chaos of what just happened haunted her thoughts while a sense of love flooded her heart. Twice this man had come to her rescue, and twice his love had been strongly demonstrated. She began to feel guilty that she couldn't reciprocate that love, at least not the way she knew he wanted.

Evalynn led them down the hidden trails and through a narrow pass in the hills. To an untrained eye, it looked like a simple gully but opened into a valley with more forest inside. The dense trees hid the hills on the far side, making it impossible to see the village on the peaks. After ten minutes of walking, they finally crossed a small bridge and got their first glimpse.

“It will be easy to defend,” Zorac said as Evalynn pointed out the only way up was a ramp on the side.

“So long as they can’t fly or climb,” Gorm replied.

Zorac carried Chandice the whole way up as Evalynn explained her plan. She would spend points to remove the ramp, cutting the peaks off from the ground. Players would have to fly or climb to reach them, slowing down the rate of attack.

“Why not wait until they are on the ramp and collapse it?” Jaina asked.

“You can't,” Zorac said. “The editor won't apply a change if it will result in another player being hurt or killed. The change will wait for the player to get to safety and then take effect.”

“But how do you make traps then?” Jaina asked.

“You have to set those up ahead of time,” Evalynn explained. “Provided it is set as a trap and has a trigger condition, it will go off when the criteria is met.”

“You could trap the ramp to sweep them off, then when the first group is clear, change it so nobody else can follow,” Gorm suggested.

“It's too risky,” Zorac cut in. “A stealther might creep up it and lock the ramp from being changed. Better to remove it now and avoid the risk that we can't do it later.”

“But if the ramp is gone, how will we escape?” Chandice asked.

“I will create a bridge from the village to a nearby hill,” Evalynn explained. “The rest of you will run to it, and once you're on the bridge, I will remove it. Since it won't vanish until your off it, I will have plenty of time to run to you and get across. Once we are off it, the change should take effect and cut off our enemies from following us.”

“That’s pretty smart thinking,” Gorm said with an approving nod. “You are a quick thinker and a pretty good fighter.”

“She’s an amazing fighter,” Zorac agreed. “We saw you holding that hoard off. You are one of the best warriors I have seen.”

Evalynn thanked them as she blushed and led them into the camp, now empty of NPCs. They quickly assembled in the throne room, and she put her statue to use, looking into the forest.

“The rogues are dead,” Evalynn announced. “Santos is the only one left, and he's on his way here.” She looked across the forest to see pockets of bodies lying about. The rogues had obviously ambushed several groups but eventually wore out or were ambushed in return. Even now, she could see three more groups at the northern edge of the forest, one of which was twenty-one people strong. She relayed all this information to the others as Gorm reminded them they were in trouble.

“We make our stand here,” Zorac said as he looked around the room. “Can you respawn the guards?”

“No, it’s Rorics camp,” Evalynn replied. “But I can add more patrols to the forest to try and slow them down.”

“Ouch,” Gorm said, causing Jaina to ask why he had that reaction. He explained that the number of patrols any land owner could create depended on the region's size. Pushing beyond the limit took extra points, with each new guard costing more than the one before. It was a terrible waste of points, but what else could they do? They had to stall for time, and tying players down in NPC battles was a good option.

Jaina looked at Evalynn as a sharp pain tore at her heart. The poor woman had been so looking forward to building this home for them and had spent a vast amount of time getting the smallest details right. The care and attention she gave Gisley's lake and Chandice's magic shop had been a monument to her love for them.

Some of these points came from her levels, but most came from the gold. If they fled, they would only be allowed to take the points from the levels and the unspent gold. Jaina knew Evalynn still had several thousand points in gold left to spend that would be useful for a restart someplace else. If Evalynn spent those points now, it would buy them time but leave even less to rebuild with later. She was being asked to choose between her dreams and her love for Roric, and Jaina saw the pain in her eyes.

“Evalynn, I am so sorry,” Jaina said as tears rolled down the elven woman’s cheek.

“I will do anything for Roric,” Evalynn said as she closed her eyes and dumped all the points she could on more guards. She began guiding Santos, speaking to him and steering him away from danger. Half an hour later, he was climbing the ramp as Evalynn prepared to remove it behind him.

They heard the rumbling and felt the hilltop shake as the ramps fell away. Santos staggered into the throne tent a minute later, limping and holding one side.

“They are coming in far greater numbers than we imagined,” he said before looking around to see the two strangers. “Who are they, and where is Roric?”

Fresh tears wet the girl's eyes as Santos shook his head. It was clear Roric was dead, and he didn't need to hear the details beyond that Zorac and Gorm were friends.

“Rajeen is going to be furious,” Santos said as he hugged Jaina. “I am so sorry.”

“You did your best,” Jaina said, then introduced him to Zorac and Gorm. She explained to them how Santos was the leader of a rogues guild and how they had been helping to try and secure the forest. However, they had all underestimated the madness that gripped players given any cause to wreak havoc. Zorac tried to reason with her and say that people got bored and jumped at a chance to have something to do. Unfortunately, people also tended to follow the herd, and somebody was whipping this herd into a frenzied mob.

Jaina didn’t want to hear it. She insisted those people were monsters who were only out for themselves. Chandice argued that they had plenty of friends but that only made Jaina angrier. She said that people were always nice when they wanted their legs spread so they could use their bodies. But all that friendship dropped away when gold and experience were to be had. She challenged them to deny that some of the hunters knew exactly who Roric and the others were. They had seen the dances and fucked the girls, but they came anyway and didn't care.

“Jaina,” Zorac said as he tried to comfort her. “Some of us came to protect you.”

“Oh, Zorac,” Jaina sobbed and fell into his arms. “I thought people loved us. I made love to them and tried to show all the affection I could. But they came to hunt us anyway, and I don't know that I want to share my love anymore.”

“Don’t say that. People do love you,” Zorac insisted. “Rajeen kept the danger you were in a secret for fear it would get back to your enemies. She didn't want them to question how she had become aware of it for fear they might discover how you were communicating. Most of the city has no idea of the danger you're in, and I know if they did, there would have been many more running to your aid. You three are loved and adored by quite a few people, and once word gets out what is happening here, they will be demanding answers.”

“But you know some of them know who we are,” Jaina insisted.

“I am sure some of them do,” Zorac agreed. “But you moved several days north and east. The towns immediately around you don’t really know who you are. I can't explain why anyone who has known the power of your love would come here to harm you. But I can tell you with certainty that they are extremely few and far between. Trust me. People hear the name Jaina, Evalynn, and Gisley and dream of happy things. You three touch hearts, and people love you for it.”

Jaina smiled weakly, as did the other girls, to hear the power of his conviction. Even Gorm nodded in approval of the touching words of his friend.

“He speaks the truth,” Santos added. “Rajeen was able to speak to some people in private. You don't know it, but several local lords have visited your bedrooms. They are all incensed by what is going on, and I would not be surprised if they show up here in force.”

“But when?” Gisley asked. “Will it be in time?”

“Even if they do show up, we can’t stay here,” Chandice said. “This place will have a reputation as a hunting ground for us. It will take years of hard work to wipe away that stain.”

“I am afraid she is right,” Gorm agreed. “Staying here is out of the question. Even if you quell this rumor, your enemies will concoct something else to ravage your home with.”

“We don’t have any points to keep anyway,” Evalynn said. “I spent everything I could on guards. I have just enough to make the bridge to allow our escape. This place is done, even before it had a chance to begin.”

“My pond is gone!” Gisley cried as she fell to her knees and started to sob. Evalynn dropped beside her and pulled her into a hug, rocking her gently as she encouraged her to be strong.

“I did all I could,” Santos said as the emotional display moved him.

“We know,” Jaina replied. “Evalynn saw everything. There were just too many.”

“So what do we do now?” Chandice asked. “Our mana and stamina pools are drained, and help might be hours to days away.”

“Now we hunker down and wait,” Zorac said as he walked to the doorway and looked out across the camp that was a ghost town. “Let’s hope Roric spawns soon.”