Manifest Read online

  “This is my fifth respawn.”

  “Ninth!”

  “Shut up!”

  “How the hell are we supposed to escape?!?”

  “Who’s freaking idea was it to put the respawn point inside the mountain?”

  Upon seeing the sheer number of shimmering lights, Gitch came to the realization that each and every imp on this floor was a player. The respawn point must have been somewhere nearby, but hardly any of them were able to escape the falling rocks for long. The NPCs were dead or gone by now, leaving only these unlucky players behind. Not that Gitch felt bad for them; on the contrary, he remembered the way they turned their backs on Kraz. This was their reward. He saw two imps run into each other, both being taken out by the same jagged rock. “Sucks to suck,” he said with no trace of sympathy lining his voice.

  “Gitch, if any of those imps or rocks get too close, see if you can blast them away. Misha, follow me as close as you can. I think we might be able to shake off a few of the smaller rocks, but if we fall into one of those cracks, we’re done for,” Croken instructed them both. Misha nodded and Gitch gave him a thumbs-up. Croken counted to three, and they thundered down the hall. The imps saw them immediately but made no move to attack. Each and every one of them was doing all they could to escape this hellish mountain.

  A steady stream of Gitch-sized rocks bounced off his brother. Nothing too serious, but Gitch kept a watchful eye for anything much larger. Misha was doing just fine on his own. He was even lighter of foot than Croken. Perks of being a sentient mountain goat, Gitch thought wryly.

  They started attracting quite the following as they made their way further down the hall. Imps were swarming around Croken’s legs, using him as a meat-shield to escape. Gitch didn’t like the idea of his enemies benefiting off his brother. One of them could ‘accidentally’ bump into his knees at some critical moment, like jumping over the giant fissure near the top of the far stairs. He crawled up to his brother’s massive head and whispered a quick set of instructions into his ear. He then counted down from 10 as he made his way over to his left shoulder. With one second to go, Gitch hovered in the air and began casting. Croken, likewise, juked to his right in a move that would have made the Nigerian Nightmare proud. His brother now cleared, Gitch released his spell. 10 imps were caught in the path of his wing blast. They were all sent sprawling back, with eight of them suddenly finding themselves beneath one of the largest slabs of ceiling-rock. The impact shook the floor, causing even more cracks to open in the ground. Gitch hardly noticed, as a cascade of notifications popped up in front of him.

  You have slain player: WAXTER

  Level: 6

  Experience received: 138 (250)

  New global PVP rank: 1,032,200,156

  Kill count: 2

  You have slain player: BOGAL

  Level: 3

  Experience received: 0 (100)

  New global PVP rank : 997,581,986

  Kill count: 3

  You have slain player: PUTRUX

  Level: 4

  Experience received: 77 (140)

  New global PVP rank : 968,346,821

  Kill count: 4

  You have slain player: NOXTAKAR

  Level: 7

  Experience received: 260 (325)

  New global PVP rank : 957,731,052

  Kill count: 5

  You have slain player: THAEL

  Level: 2

  Experience received: 0 (70)

  New global PVP rank : 917,804,934

  Kill count: 6

  You have slain player: VOLQUIT

  Level: 8

  Experience received: 320 (400)

  New global PVP rank : 904,700,638

  Kill count: 7

  You have slain player: KLAPZ

  Level: 5

  Experience received: 110 (200)

  New global PVP rank : 899,284,003

  Kill count: 8

  Congratulations! Wing Blast has increased to level 7!

  +6% range

  +6 damage

  HARK! You have manifested to level 10! Continue on this journey to realize the furthest depths of your true self!

  You have gained 1 attribute point to distribute.

  Health increased from 207 to 230

  Mana increased from 783 to 870

  Stamina increased from 510 to 567

  “And stay back, d-bags!” he shouted at the two surviving imps. They flipped him the bird, but didn’t dare fly closer for fear of being caught in another blast. He was surprised to have gained another level. Between killing Zargath and completing that sneak quest, he must have already been just on the edge of level 10. Gitch was feeling pretty good, until he heard his bother cry out in pain. He looked over and saw that, while he had been dealing with the imps, a stalactite had shaken loose from the ceiling and pierced Croken in his right arm. The big guy stumbled from the attack, but Misha pulled alongside and kept Croken upright. Gitch rushed over and gladly spent the 296 mana to heal his brother. Croken grunted his appreciation and resumed his beastly pace.

  There were fewer imps that had made it this far across the room, posing less of a threat than the shards of death falling from above. The rocks were getting larger and the cracks wider. Gitch was now casting wing blast as soon as the 5 second cooldown expired, but chunks of ceiling were still getting through. Croken and Misha were taking a beating, but he was able to heal them of anything too serious. Both his mana influx and wing blast spells increased another level in the process, but there was not much time for celebrating. He had to constantly scan the ceiling for any falling death-rocks. All it would take was one decent sized chunk of ceiling to the brain to cause lights-out for any one of them.

  They finally made it to the stairs, sweaty and tired. Gitch saw Croken panting and Misha leaning up against a wall for support. They were offered a brief moment of respite, as these stairwells appeared to be better reinforced than the floors above. Nothing fell from above, and no holes opened up below them. Gitch healed each of them back to full health, and then waited for his own mana to regenerate as the others regained their spent stamina. It took only a few minutes, and then they were off again.

  The first floor was even deadlier than the last. There were hardly any imps, but the entire ceiling seemed to be coming apart. Boulder sized rocks fell from the many floors above, and Gitch saw the giant statue of Shikolm tip over. Shards of black crystal exploded outward, and the room grew dark as many of the torches were blown out. They were out of time.

  Croken said it might be safer to hug the walls. Gitch didn’t think it would make much of a difference, but if it brought them a bit of extra hope, he was fine with it. Plus, Croken’s luck was MUCH higher than his. When it came to decision making, Croken’s was, in all likelihood, the way to go.

  They sped along the room’s edge as quickly as their feet/wings could take them. No one bothered looking up. Wing blast had no chance in turning any of those hunks of rock aside, and there was little chance in actually dodging a collapsing mountain. No, they just hoofed it as far and as fast as they could.

  Misha soon took the lead. He seemed to have a good idea where the exit was located on this main floor. Gitch caught sight of the storeroom, with the ramp leading up to the wall, but they kept going. They past many side-passages that were already filled with rubble, and Gitch was hoping that the main gate was still open and unblocked. Gitch didn’t really mind dying, but he was worried for the other two. There would be no second life for Misha, and he had no idea where Croken’s respawn point was. He just found his brother, and he did not intend to lose him again so soon.

  They rounded a bend and Gitch saw light up ahead. Not the flickering of torches, but honest sunlight! They each put on an extra burst of speed and soon exited through the gate. They quickly crossed a burning courtyard and under the still-smoking wall. They were free! The light of freedom burned his eyes, and he couldn’t have been more thrilled!

  They weren’t completely out of harm’s way yet. The g
roup was tired, but they knew they couldn’t stop until they reached the woods. Imps were still trickling out of various holes from the collapsing fortress, and he had a feeling they would not take kindly to the ones who had wrought so much devastation upon their home.

  While the imps were still distracted, Gitch and company traversed the narrow walkway across the lake. They had just past into the trees when he heard a series of loud crashes behind him. The ground shook as Gurthaz Keep completely collapsed in on itself. Billows of smoke encompassed the gorge, and the stone wall crumbled to the ground. There was a massive earthquake, and great waves rose out of the lake. Croken and Misha were knocked to the ground, and Gitch had to dodge falling nuts and branches from the nearby trees. He sincerely hoped the mountain was not in fact some pissed off dormant volcano now waking from its lengthy slumber. He had this thing about being burned alive.

  Through the chaos, Gitch did happen to see the few remaining imps encircling the base. He was fairly certain they had absolutely no idea what was happening, but all had a mind to seek refuge elsewhere. These survivors flew across the lake, heading in the same general direction as their massive army. In less than two minutes, the skies were clear and the mountain ceased her rumbling. All was still. All was calm.

  “AAAIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!”

  Misha streaked down towards the water with surprising speed. Gitch was seriously thinking about asking Reigh for a pair of ear plugs once they got back to town. He wasn’t sure how many more of these screams his tiny ears could take.

  He strained to see what had caused the goshen to throw caution to the wind. Something was bobbing in the water and was coming towards them, growing larger with each passing second. Two eyes were soon visible, followed by a gnarled nose. A sopping wet beard covered the rest of his face, making it impossible to gauge Dwik’s expression.

  Croken saw both the worried look on Gitch’s face and the joyous way Misha ran to meet the newcomer. “Is that gnome a friend or foe?” he whispered to his brother.

  “Yes,” Gitch sighed as he began walking towards the water’s edge

  Dwik had completely ignored the fawning goshen. His eyes were fixed on Gitch alone. Misha looked disappointed but followed his former master without a word. Gitch was drawing near the water and soon saw that someone else was with them. A familiar blue fairy nervously rose out of the lake. It was Tupia. He was curious as to why she was here, but that question could wait.

  Dwik stopped a mere foot from Gitch. There was still an unreadable expression on his face, but it seemed to Gitch like the gnome was battling an internal struggle. They stood there silently for 10 whole seconds until Dwik finally spoke up. “Right or left?”

  Gitch gave it some thought. “Le-” he never finished. Dwik punched him right in the mouth, which, considering the fist-to-head ratio, included pretty much his whole face. Gitch was knocked flat on his back and could feel blood trickling out of the various cuts on his face.

  YOU HAVE SUFFERED 17 PHYSICAL DAMAGE!

  “That was fer turning me into dragon poop! AGAIN! It was even worse than the first time. Diarrhea? Are ya effing kiddin’ me?!?” Dwik shouted. Croken stepped up to defend his brother, but the gnome’s words stopped him in his tracks. He gave Gitch a “What the hell?” look, which Gitch ignored.

  He stood back up, spat out a glob of blood, and waited for Dwik to continue. Dwik ground his teeth and took another set forward. Gitch closed his eyes, bracing himself for another attack. None came.

  He felt a hand on either shoulder pulling him in for a tight embrace. The gnome whispered in his ear four simple words, “Thank you, my friend.” Gitch heard a few sobs escape his mouth as well, but he would never tell. He knew what a terrible ordeal it must have been, but sometimes that was the price of living.

  “You are most welcome, my friend. I do not apologize for the result, only for the means. I wish there was some other way to save your life, but I saw none. To tell you honestly, I would have done it again,” Gitch whispered back. Dwik squeezed his back once more and then let him go.

  “I understand... Just not a word to anyone,” Dwik warned.

  “My lips are sealed. We good?” Gitch asked. He stuck out his fist.

  “Yeah, ‘course,” Dwik said. He brought his own fist up and smacked it against Gitch’s. They smiled at each other, and Dwik raised a finger to the smoking gorge where Gurthaz Keep once stood. “I assume that was yer handiwork?”

  Gitch nodded, causing Croken to let out a low growl. “Alright, I guess I had some help.”

  Croken grinned, and Misha stood proud. Gitch rolled his eyes. His brother could be a jerk sometimes.

  “I see,” Dwik said with a smirk. “You will have to tell me how ya managed to escape the privy. I thought we were both goners, fer sure. Any sight of me goat on yer way to playin’ hero?”

  Thankful for a way out of sharing his sewage tale, Gitch looked over to where Misha was literally bouncing on his hooves. “Actually, there was some success on that front. Dwik, turn around.”

  Dwik looked like he wanted to punch him again but did as he was told. He looked up at the excited goshen, skeptically. “And just who are you?”

  “Hello Dwik! Oh, it is so nice to finally be able to speak with you!” Misha burst out.

  Dwik was so startled he fell over backwards, nearly taking Gitch out with him. The gnome looked back up at him with wide-eyes. “Mi-Misha?” he asked.

  “Yes, Dwik. I am your Misha!” the goshen exclaimed proudly.

  Quest completed: An IMPudent Ritual

  You have finally learned of what became of Dwik’s long-lost goats. One suffered a fate most foul, eaten by your hated foe-the imp. Another was found safe and sound, if not a bit scared. The third and final goat was rescued just prior to being possessed by a demon of the Lava Lands. Two of three have been safely returned to Dwik. Well done!

  Reward:

  420 (400) experience points

  1200 reputation points with Dwik

  Congratulations! Your relationship status with Dwik has increased from Friend to Ally!

  Gitch chuckled. “You two catch up, but we need to head out soon. Tupia, why don’t you come here. I’d like to introduce you to my brother.”

  She gave him a funny look before flying over. “You aren’t an NPC, are you?” she asked as she drew close.

  “Um... No. I guess you can tell by our lack of resemblance?” Gitch said, looking at his very non-fairy brother.

  “Yeah, basically. It’s not that I care, I’m just surprised you were able to hand out quests.”

  Croken gave him another of those “What the hell?” signature glances, but Gitch waved him off. “It’s part of my class abilities. Guess you could call me a bit of a prankster.”

  “No problem, I still really enjoyed the task you gave me!”

  “Good, and I am still planning on paying you too. Now, I gotta ask, why are you still here?”

  She looked down at her feet, no longer meeting him in the eye. “The blue and brown fairies stayed behind, giving the queen a few extra seconds to escape. Most of them died, but a few tried to escape. They wanted me to leave with them, but I was too scared. I don’t know what ended up happening to the survivors, but I just huddled in a ball next to this big pipe and cried for hours.

  That was how I found Dwik floating at the bottom of the lake. First, there was this brown cloud floating by, but then the gnome popped up right in front of me! I am not sure if he ever learned how to swim, the way he was flailing about. I cast my water-breathing spell on him, and we have been hiding out together ever since.” She finished her story, still avoiding eye contact with them both.

  Croken moved forward and bent down on one knee. “Hello, Tupia, my name is Croken. You can call me Tommy, if that helps. You should know that we do not hold any of this against you, and in no way do we think you a coward. Battles are scary and burdensome. The fact that you stayed back just proves your gentle heart. That is nothing to be ashamed of! Besides, you saved Dwik, which I a
m starting to think is a good thing,” he said with a slight smile. Tupia finally looked up with a smile of her own.

  Croken nodded and looked over at Gitch. “Now what, brother?”

  “We are still missing four members of our party. I’d hate to leave most of them behind, but we can’t stay here much longer. How good is that nose of yours? Think you can track them down?”

  Croken lifted his elongated snout into the air and sniffed a few times. He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. His eyes went hazy, and Gitch knew why an instant later.

  REGION ALERT!

  Attention denizens of the Dufflin Forest! The imp scourge has been dealt a heavy blow. The once mighty fortress now lies in ruins. It’s guardian, Zargath, slain.

  Imps! Do not lose hope! There is still time to right this egregious crime! Regain control over the Keeper Orb, and take back your forest! Succeed, and the forest is yours!

  Fairies! The war is not yet won! Return the Keeper Orb to your queen to take full ownership of the Dufflin Portal! Succeed, and the forest is yours!

  Each sentient creature within the bounds of the Dufflin Forest will receive temporary access to a map indicating the current location of the Keeper Orb. Non-sentient creatures will naturally be drawn to its power.

  Creatures of the Dark-TO ARMS!

  Creatures of the Light-RALLY THE TROOPS!

  Current possessor of the Keeper Orb: Gitch, the fairy

  Gitch’s mouth dropped open in shock. He pulled the Keeper Orb out of his Pouch of Holding and gave it a solid look. Everyone was watching him closely, each having received the same message.

  “Um... would anyone mind holding this for me for just a second?” Every single one of them took a step back. Even Croken, his trusted brother, turned away.

  Crap!

  He heard a loud rustling in the bushes to his left. Tupia took off towards the water, and Misha flat-out hid behind Croken’s giant form. Dwik took out his sling but looked very much like he wanted to rejoin Tupia in the lake. Gitch reached for his needle but gripped only empty air. He had already forgotten he was weaponless yet again. Before he could cast a spell, the beast came into full view.