Manifest Page 40

“GITCH FAIRY! GITCH FAIRY! WE FIND YOU. YES! YES! WE GLAD SEE YOU!”

  Alpha shot towards him, completely disregarding the others present. Gitch flew to meet her with a huge smile on his face. He had been so worried they hadn’t made it out of the fortress. To see her again filled him with utter joy. Goldie soon followed and ran straight for Dwik. She pounced on the gnome, licking his bearded-face with abandon.

  It was a happy meeting, and even more so when Tacka peeked through the foliage. She let out a scream, which Misha was obliged to repeat. Alpha snarled at the interruption, but Gitch just gave her another scratch behind the ears. Her snarling quickly turned into moans of pleasure.

  “I don’t mean to be ‘that guy’, but you all just received that region alert, right?” Croken asked.

  “Alert?” Dwik asked.

  “I received it. Maybe it was only sent to aliens?” Tupia suggested. She had returned after seeing the friendliness of the new arrivals.

  “That’s not fair,” Dwik grumbled. “Wha’d it say?”

  “Well, pretty much every imp player in this forest knows Gitch has the Keeper Orb, and every nasty beast will be drawn to his position. He needs to get to this queen fairy, pronto.”

  “You’re right, but there is a huge imp army between us and the queen. Also, I’m guessing there are WAY more evil creatures in this part of the forest. If they all know where I am, I don’t see much of a chance in sneaking past,” Gitch said.

  Dwik gave him a toothy grin. “Well that be simple enough. We’ll just kill ya!”

  “Yeah? Well screw you very much!” Gitch shot back. Alpha dropped low and growled menacingly at the gnome. She stepped in front of Gitch, threatening any to come and hurt her fairy friend. Goldie dropped low as well, though with a very uncertain look on her face.

  Dwik chuckled. “Ya said it yerself just before the battle. Ya never changed yer respawn point! It’s still back in me glade. Ya know, the same one the fairy queen happens to be in?”

  “I like this plan! Mind if I have a poke?” Came a voice to his right. Gitch turned and saw Feckle shimmer into view, holding his trident at the ready.

  “First off, screw you Feckle. You literally just made me throw up in my mouth. Second, Alpha, don’t worry. Even if I die, I’ll just respawn back at my respawn point. It’s not a permanent death.”

  “I SEE! YES! YES! SHALL I BITE OFF YOUR HEAD? I MAKE IT FAST? YES! YES! I THINK GOOD PLAN! YES?” She turned to face him and he saw a hungry look in her eyes. Her tongue was hanging out and great drops of saliva fell to the ground.

  “I could take you to the bottom of the lake and let you drown?” Tupia generously offered.

  “My horns are quite sharp,” added Misha. “I believe just one strike would be enough.”

  “Uhh... It’s not that I don’t appreciate everyone offering to kill me... But what the hell?!? You really gonna Order 66 me that easily?”

  “Actually, I don’t really see a problem big bro. The gnome makes a good point,” Croken chimed in.

  “Oh, you don’t, do you?” Gitch asked, temper starting to flare up. “How about the giant battle that is supposedly taking place? What if the battle is over and I am captured immediately? What if they destroyed the glade and I pop up Dufflin knows where, alone? Remember my luck score of 1? Any of those are very real, very likely possibilities!”

  “I think that’s a chance we are willing to take,” Feckle said. Gitch flipped him off. He lost 5% experience for the next 12 hours, but it made him feel a little better.

  “Think about it this way,” Croken reasoned. “All those imps that took off from the collapsing cave, not to mention that army you mentioned, all stand in the way of you and the queen. They might have given up the battle already if it means recapturing that orb. They are probably all on their way here now, along with all the evil beasts on this side of the woods. Our little group won’t survive that. The NPCs will die, I will respawn three continents away, completely broke I might add, and you will end up dead or captured regardless. I think this is for the best, risks and all.”

  Gitch hated how much sense his brother made. He would be sacrificing Dwik, Misha, the wolves, and even Tacka for the slimmest of chances of making it past the imp hordes. He couldn’t do that to them, and he wasn’t about to send Croken away to some distant land. He didn’t even want to think about how hard it would be to reach him again. With a heavy sigh, he laid down on the sandy beach, flat on his back. “

  “It’s gotta be Croken,” he said, closing his eyes. He could feel the heavy footfalls of his brother’s approach. He heard his brother give an animalistic snort. “I feel kind of like Aslan right now, and you’re my little white witch. Hold still.”

  Gitch felt a shadow pass over him as he opened his eyes. There was a giant paw hovering just feet above his head. “Seriously?” was all he could get out before the paw came crashing down on his prone body.

  CRITICAL HIT!

  YOU HAVE SUFFERED 908 PHYSICAL DAMAGE!

  YOU HAVE DIED!

  Chapter 30

  He stood at the edge of a charred glade, facing row after row of burning trees. The smell of sulfur was heavy and thick black smoke blotted out the sun. Gitch looked up, and-

  CRITICAL HIT!

  YOU HAVE SUFFERED 210 PHYSICAL DAMAGE!

  Something long and sharp pierced his back. He cried out in pain as his attacker thrust him head-first into the ground. He tried to roll over, but a second swipe slit his throat like a knife through butter.

  CRITICAL HIT!

  YOU HAVE SUFFERED 170 PHYSICAL DAMAGE!

  YOU HAVE DIED!

  He respawned again just a moment later.

  Run!

  The voice wasn’t audible, more like it came from within his own mind. He instinctively obeyed, and took off running towards the burning trees. He felt something hot slam into the spot he had just vacated, just as the internal voice screamed at him once again.

  No not that way! To me, Papa Gitch!

  Gitch turned around and stopped dead in his tracks. “Todd?” he asked in awe.

  Much had changed since he last visited, barely two days ago. Not only could Todd speak to him outside of the pool, but he had grown another 60 feet, at least! He was now the size of a low-rise apartment building!

  Yes! Hurry, Papa Gitch! There are so many. I think we are losing!

  Gitch lifted off the ground, flying straight towards Todd’s thick stalk. He couldn’t help but take in the sharp contrast of the glade as he flew. This scarred battlefield hardly mirrored the eden he had witnessed on his first day.

  The ground resembled a psychopath’s interpretation of the night sky. Hundreds, if not thousands, of black imp corpses covered the grassy floor, with many fairies appearing as unmoving stars.

  Several trees were walking over the corpses, waving long branches at any imp that flew within reach. Aside from the apparent magical foliage, all manner of beasts prowled among the bodies. They looked like your typical forest creatures, deer, bobcats, raccoons, ducks, but they seemed... different. Some sprouted extra paws or tentacles. Others could spit globs of acidic webbing or shoot poisonous needles at their imp foes. There was even a mixed squad of winged tentadiles and koalas who were even now unleashing devastation on a group of hapless imps. Kwat, in particular, looked especially fearsome with his claws of fire. Gitch assumed the creature alterations were Todd’s handiwork. Smart move.

  Still, imps filled the glade like flies, seemingly covering every cubic inch of space. A hundred individual dog fights were taking place above. Fairies everywhere were sending spell after spell into the imp army, but he would be lying if said he noticed much of a difference in their numbers.

  A great majority of the imp army was focused on the greatest concentration of fairy warriors who were positioned around the giant toadstool. Roughly half the fairies were still augmented, but they were putting on the most awesome display of magic Gitch had ever seen. With all the multi-colored beams, bolts, and fairy dust, it seemed more 70’s p
sychedelic laser show than a large scale battle. Regardless of the aesthetics, he could tell this group of fairies were far more organized than the sorry group of players that had assaulted Gurthaz Keep earlier that morning. These were battle hardened NPCs, trained in the art of war. Their lines were well formed, and they traded off casting to maintain a constant barrage against their attackers. Fairies may be a mischievous, tricksy people, but they sure knew how to fight imps.

  Even with their magical advantage and impressive tactics, the Fae would have long since perished if not for their strongest ally. Todd was providing some epic bonuses to his allies, while also sending some pretty nasty debuffs for his enemies. He was their greatest strength, and most everyone in the glade knew it.

  The imps not focused on penetrating the fairy ranks were having fun firebombing the mutant animals or surrounding trees. Gitch assumed those crusty snot-rags were players, and could care less about the actual battle. It was one of those jerks that had sent him to respawn only moments after reappearing.

  An imp suddenly broke off his chase of an acid-spitting beaver, and turned in his direction. Gitch altered his heading slightly, but kept flying. Another imp closed in on him, and then another, and then another. Soon, half a flock was on his tail. He heard shouts of “It’s him!” and “Get that pink one!” coming from behind. The shouting began to draw further notice, and Gitch saw the two armies ahead cease fighting. They all turned to see the speeding, pink fairy making a beeline for the stalk. A one-word cry rang out from the many present.

  “GITCH!”

  Some spoke it with joy, but most as more of a curse. Knowing thousands of creatures were staring at him, many wishing him a slow, painful death, creeped Gitch out more than he could say.

  Umm... Papa Gitch? You may want to hurry it up...

  Friggin shroom is telling me to speed up? Go figure, Gitch thought sourly.

  I do not know what you are implying, but yes. I believe you are burning daylight.

  Crap! He had forgotten Todd was a mind reader. He picked up the pace without further comment, audible or otherwise. Imps began diving for him. Thousands of them, falling through the air with nothing but capture, torture, or murder on their minds. It was not a comforting thought.

  He didn’t try to fight, there was no point. All he could do was try and reach the fairies before the imps caught up with him. At least he could count on his luck seeing him through...

  YOU HAVE SUFFERED 120 FIRE DAMAGE!

  YOU ARE BURNING! TAKE 20 FIRE DAMAGE PER SECOND FOR 6 SECONDS.

  “Ouuuuch!” Gitch croaked as a heat washed over his left side. He slammed into the ground, feeling extra-crispy. His wings had curled in on themselves and were now completely useless. Gitch was grounded.

  Hundreds of imps pulled off their attack of the fortified toadstool and dove straight for him. He didn’t move. His flesh was charred, and there was no way he could make it to the safety of the stalk now. The fairies could not afford a rescue attempt. They were stretched thin enough and losing Todd was not an option. He was alone, in pain, and done for. The imps wouldn’t kill him. They would capture, torture, and make him give up the orb. He saw many of the animals and a few of the trees making their way towards him, but there was no way they would beat out the imps.

  Papa Gitch! Don’t move!

  He wasn’t sure what Todd was up too, but it wasn’t like he was about to disobey. Even if he tried to move, he was pretty sure he would be leaving bits of himself behind. He closed his eyes, readying himself for the inevitable.

  A low rumble filled the glade, and Gitch could feel the ground beneath him shake terribly. He opened his eyes and saw deep fissures in the earth around his body. The imps began flying faster, but it was too late. The ground below Gitch opened up, sending him tumbling down. All of three feet.

  He landed at the top of some angular shaft. It tunneled down and away in the complete opposite direction as the Toddshroom, which Gitch found a bit counter-productive.

  “Um... Todd? It’s not that I don’t appreciate this, but didn’t you say I should be moving towards you?”

  Of course, I did, silly! Get ready!

  Gitch braced himself. The imps were no more than 10 yards away when he heard a sound like a gunshot. He had just the time to shout in surprise before a giant geyser shot him airborne at a speed the imps couldn’t even hope to match.

  Gitch felt a cool relief flood his body, just as tiny jolts of electricity tickled his skin. His burnt skin regained its pink hue, and his wings were slowly knitting themselves back together. The water’s healing properties were hard at work. It was such an amazing, glorious sensation, but all he could think about was how he was speeding towards the giant stalk with no means to stop or even slow down.

  YOU HAVE SUFFERED 53 PHYSICAL DAMAGE!

  It hurt like hell, and he was pretty sure his nose was broken, but he was alive! A green fairy with spiked-brown hair flew over and caught him before he fell to the ground.

  “You got a funny way of fighting a battle, dude. You’ll have to teach me how to do that later. I miss me some waterparks, man,” he said.

  “Waterpark? Wait, are you a player? I thought all the players died at the lake?” Gitch asked.

  “Oh, we did, man! We did! But then the coolest thing happened! We totally woke up back in that fairy city. Ya know, the one with all the fairies? Well, they told us we needed to hurry on up here to protect a mushroom or somethin’. They didn’t need to ask me twice, dude. I was there! Now, I’m here, man, and so are you!” Greeny said excitedly.

  “Awesome, Chong. Really great. Now, can you tell me where the queen is? I need to speak with her. It’s kind of a big deal.”

  “Yeah, man! She’s up there, underneath the hood.” The trippy fairy pointed up to the underbelly of the large cap. A small delegation of fairies hovered near the stalk, and sure enough, he saw a shining white fairy among them. He had found her!

  Gitch tested his newly mended wings, making sure he was fit to fly before letting go of the eccentric fairy. It was only after the green dude had gone back to the perimeter that Gitch realized he had never actually asked him his name. Honestly, he was not that good with names anyway, and was already having a hard time remembering everyone he had met since logging in. Gitch merely shrugged his shoulders, and flew off for Queen Tibura.

  “Oh Dufflin, not you again,” she sighed out as he neared. Gitch had been hoping she had forgotten the whole ‘treason’ thing from the lake. He had saved her, after all, but he knew enough not to play the I-told-you-so card with a queen. He liked his head where it was currently located.

  “I know, I know, but I thought you might be wanting this, my queen?” he said, pulling the shining orb out of his pouch.

  The queen’s face lit up and her lips parted to reveal a genuine smile. She flew over and gave him peck on the cheek before taking the Keeper Orb from his outstretched hands. “You did it! I don’t know how, but you did it! Well done, Brother Gitch!”

  Without warning she dropped to the ground, all thoughts of strategy and battle, seemingly forgotten. Gitch and the rest of her war council quickly followed after her. She had landed 10 yards or so away from Todd; still within the bounds of the Fae parameter, but only just. The imps saw her fly to the ground, and redoubled their efforts to penetrate their lines. The fairies were straining to hold them back, and Gitch wasn’t sure how much longer they would last.

  He landed across from the queen, hoping whatever she was about to do would happen quickly. General Safiri touched down next to him and immediately addressed Queen Tibura. “My queen! Should we not perform the ritual safely within the borders of Fae-thil? I fear now might not be the most opportune time or place. We don’t even know what will truly happen. Do we?”

  “General, this is exactly the time and place. We are besieged on all sides and losing fairies by the second. We have been able to hold them off for now, but I believe that will not be the case for much longer. They know the orb is here, and they are hitting u
s with everything they have! Our altered states will soon expire, at which point we will be slaughtered. Do I know what will happen once the portal opens? No, but I am hoping for some kind of help. Even evacuating the wounded would be a boon. We must do this here. We must do this now! Understood?” she asked them both. Gitch had nothing to add. Her logic seemed sound, and he wasn’t about to piss her off now that he was back in her good graces. He merely shrugged his shoulders.

  “Yes, my queen!” The general saluted, swiftly moving between Queen Tibura and the front line not 2 yards away. Nothing would interrupt his queen without first going through him.

  He cast a dark spell at a flock of approaching imps. Nothing immediately happened, but Gitch had been looking in the wrong spot. All of a sudden, he saw each and every one of their own shadows leap off from the ground, latching on to their former owners. There was much screaming and gnashing of teeth in those next few moments, causing Gitch to turn away in disgust. He had never seen dark magic, but there was no doubting its effectiveness.

  With an intense concentration, she began imbuing the Keeper Orb with mana. White fairy dust was sucked out of her at an alarming rate, but she never once blinked or lost focus. Her hair stood on end, and her skin slowly began losing some of its shine. She was easily the most powerful fairy in the glade, and if she was in danger of dying from mana loss, it did not bode well for their odds for survival.

  Papa Gitch, what is happening?!?

  Gitch didn’t take his eyes off of Queen Tibura. “I don’t know, but I think we are about to find out.”

  The queen lightly tossed the Keeper Orb into the air, where it hung suspended over the grass. She clapped her hands together and cried, “PORTE DUFFO!”

  Queen Tibura sunk to her knees in exhaustion. Several healers rushed to her side just as the ground began to shake. Unsure what was going on, Gitch sent a mental question mark to Todd.

  It’s not me! I feel like something is coming. Something strong. Something… different.

  That wasn’t ominous at all. Gitch looked to where the Keeper Orb hung and saw a golden rift crackle into existence. It started as thin as a single sheet of paper, but quickly widened to the size of a Mini Cooper.