Through the Depths, page 1
Through the Depths
New Aspen: Book 2
by
Drew Seren
&
Rosu Vulpe
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Except where actual places are being described for the storyline of this novel, all situations in this publication are fictitious; any resemblance to living persons or places is purely coincidental.
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First Edition
Copyright 2021 © MysticHawker Press
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Edited by Robert Brownson
Cover art by Bobooks
Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
1
Gruso
Gruso swung his double-bladed axe in a sweeping arc, catching the charging boar hard in the snout. “I thought this was a starting zone.” He hadn’t needed to use any buffs or special attacks. His inate strength as a Bear had been enough, but the mobs were attacking from a greater distance than normal.
“It is.” Blair, the Deer warrior, kicked a second boar in the side. “These things keep us on our toes.”
“Do you even have toes?” Digger stabbed the boar Gruso had hit, sending his dagger hilt deep into the shaggy beast’s side, knocking nearly half of its health out with the critical blow. The badger’s Assassin ability helped him score extra damage.
“Is that a snide comment about Deer?” Blair slashed the boar with her sword.
“Not the time!” Their guild alpha, the Wolf Avalon, shot two arrows from a short distance away. “Kill boars first, then discuss anatomy.”
Sauda chuckled as she released her own arrows, finishing off the boar Gruso and Digger were working on. “But it’s always a good time for anatomy lessons, Wildthing.” The Cougar archer had been after Avalon since they’d met in the avian dungeon, Forest of Eons, a week earlier.
Oliver Rushed the boar Blair was attacking. The Beaver fighter’s attack did a decent amount of damage before he Body Slammed it, knocking it to the ground. Then Blair finished it off.
“I wasn’t talking about the boars themselves.” Gruso wiped his axe on the grass even as the boar blood on it pixelated. “I mean how these things are the same level as we are. Shouldn’t they be level one or two? This one was level twenty. That one—” He pointed at the boar Blair, Oliver and Avalon had brought down, that Oliver was butchering “—was level nineteen.”
Avalon straightened from harvesting needed ingredients from the first boar. “They seem to be taking on the level of the first one to attack them. I was thinking it was odd with the last group. They’re also coming in groups as opposed to singly.”
“Okay, yeah that is odd.” Blair stood rigid, glancing about like she expected another attack. “I never saw one that was higher than level three when I was starting out around here. I wonder if it’s part of the patch they’re rolling out. Since we’re not able to get new players, they’re trying to increase the strength of mobs so there’re no really easy targets anymore.”
Gruso groaned. “Makes sense, I guess. So, the areas increase as all the players do. But I was really hoping we’d hit a point where the beginning things would be easier.” If they were right, he wasn’t sure he wanted to go back to Ursauna, the Bear starting zone. The vicious rabbits around there had been hard enough when the mobs were level one, and he didn’t want to think of them any stronger and more dangerous.
Avalon shook his head. “That works to a point, but if everything’s getting harder, then what’s the point in moving on from the starting zones to get tougher and tougher fights?”
“Going to new places helps us meet new people and keep things interesting.” Suada’s tone never changed from her sultry self, especially when talking to Avalon.
“Maybe it’s part of Gruso’s idea that O’Byrne Corp is using the game as a huge test for placing us in the colony when we reach New Aspen.” Digger rolled up the skin he’d removed from the first boar using his leather-working craft. “Those who just stay in their starting zones end up being simple townspeople when we get to New Aspen and those of us who explore and go out farther and farther from the starting zones end up with better positions in the colony.”
“Then we need to keep exploring and getting the most out of the game.” Gruso looked down the road. It appeared clear, but that could change quickly. “I want to be in the best position I can be when we arrive.”
“Me too.” Avalon agreed. “Let’s get to Faunaria and see where this patch is going to take us next.”
Keeping their weapons at the ready, they continued on, with Gruso in the lead and Blair bringing up the rear. The areas between the Wolf starting zone and the Deer zone had been fairly clear along the road, with only a few high-level mobs off in the distance, far enough away to avoid aggro. With a diverse party of six, they were able to handle most monsters they’d seen, as long as it was six on one, but once they entered the deer zone, the boars had been a bit on the aggressive side and were traveling in pairs and small packs, providing the guild a challenge.
Most of the area was open grassland, with occasional clumps of trees, or towering rock formations. The zones Gruso had traveled in the game to that point had mostly been forested or mountainous. The change was nice. Here and there, two or three buildings sat clustered together. People moved around some of the buildings, but not all. There were also cow-like mammals—not upright, walking bipeds like players, but four-legged, basic bovines that looked and acted like cows from Earth.
“There it is.” Blair pointed ahead of them.
Gruso stopped and looked back at her, then stared in the direction she was gesturing. He couldn’t make out anything. “Don’t see it yet.”
“Bear eyes aren’t as sharp as Deer eyes,” Blair grumbled. “Maybe you should let me lead.”
“Sure.” Gruso spread his paw-like hands wide. “But remember, I’ve still got more hit points and a higher constitution.”
Avalon shook his head. “Deer are a prey species. That means your eyes are naturally sharper, but it makes sense to have our biggest tank in front. He can take unexpected damage better than the rest of us can.”
“Not that we can’t see everything coming at us from a huge distance.” Gruso turned back to the road and resumed hiking along the well-beaten ground. “Things can’t jump out at us like they could near Obiorne. I can see where this grassland would get tiring after a while.”
“Another reason to go exploring,” Blair said. “If you continue having trouble seeing the city, I’ll warn you before we walk into the fence around it.”
“Fence?” Gruso frowned. “How defensible is a fence?”
“Other than the boars and a few other things, there’s not a lot around here that’s going to try charging into the place and attack us.” Blair kicked a stone so hard it rolled past Gruso before it stopped.
“Sometimes a wide-open vista is as good a defense as a high wall,” Avalon said. “We’ve got to admit that different places do things differently. There’s never just one way to do things.”
“Exactly.” Suada chuckled deeply. “That’s what I’ve always said, gotta have more than one position to try.”
The gates to Faunaria were intricate iron affairs with lots of leaves intertwined with deer visages. Beyond the fence, the houses and shops appeared to be simple affairs constructed of bound bundles of grass. Some of them were the same green as the grasslands, and others were a dried brown.
A pair of Deer in thick leather armor, holding spears, stood at the gates. The first one nodded to Gruso. “Greetings Gruso, and Elysium guild. Welcome to Faunaria. May the soft grass always grow around you and the sun warm your backs.”
“Thank you.” Gruso wasn’t totally sure what more to say. If it was going to become a custom for the guards to offer a complex greeting, he was going to have to get used to it and come up with something cool and complex to reply with.
They made it beyond the gates and pain seared through Gruso.
Around him, players screamed.
Suada collapsed to the ground holding her head.
Blair was on her knees, pounding the ground as if that made the pain less.
Fire seared through Gruso. It felt like the flames ripped across his body, then burrowed deep inside him. It engulfed him and he felt like his very cells were being re-written from the inside. The fires lasted for several minutes, although it felt much longer.
As suddenly as it began, it stopped. Gruso blinked, surprised that he felt more or less normal. Around him, people lay in the streets, slumped on woode
n benches, or leaned against thatched walls. Some of them had dissolved into soft crying.
“Oliver, it’s okay.” Avalon was bent over the beaver, rubbing his back.
The fighter was curled up into a fetal position, whimpering. “What was that?”
Gruso looked around. The only ones not affected seemed to be the NPCs. They were going around providing comfort to the impacted players. Some were offering water, and some just pats on the back.
“What was that?” Digger rose from the crouch he’d dropped into and put the dagger he’d drawn back into the sheath across his chest.
“Painful,” Blair replied.
“Understate much?” Suada snapped. “Do you have things like that happen in this city a lot?”
Blair shook her head. “No.”
Gruso hurried over to the closest NPC, a man with the name Dancer Miller above his head in green letters. “Do you have any idea what just happened?”
Dancer straightened from where he’d been rubbing a cougar’s back. “It was the patch. You are aware we were getting a patch, today weren’t you?”
“The patch?” Gruso glanced from Dancer to Avalon. “The patch caused all of us that much pain? How is that possible?”
Avalon helped Oliver to his feet. “All the games I’ve played before, when they had a patch or an upgrade, took everything offline. Since this one has all of us stuck in it until we reach New Aspen, maybe they had been rolling out little changes to everything but the players.”
“Like the mobs in the starting zone being higher level?” Oliver wiped tears from the short brown fur on his muzzle.
“Exactly.” Avalon nodded. “But since they’re rolling out psychic powers to the players, they had to affect us too. Or at least our avatars.”
“They could’ve bloody-well warned us.” Blair stamped her foot.
“And what would we have done?” Gruso turned from Dancer. “Thank you for your information.”
“Of course.” Dancer went back to the cougar he’d been comforting. “It’s going to be fine, dear. Maybe a bit of bread will get you back on your feet.”
The cougar shook her head and continued crying. “It hurt so much.”
“It would’ve been nice to be warned,” Avalon said. “But that was major. Even a warning couldn’t have properly prepared us for that. I guess all we can do is go on and find the psychic trainer who was mentioned in the patch notice we saw back in Obiorne. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m ready for something close to magic in this game.”
“Me too.” Gruso nodded, then looked at Blair. “You’re the native. Any idea where we need to go?”
“Maybe.” Blair took a couple of unsteady steps. “Man, I’m not looking forward to the next patch. Hope these things don’t happen very often.”
“Or what are we going to do if they roll out an upgrade?” Gruso followed her. If a patch had been that bad, he didn’t want to know what would happen if they did a character upgrade. With any luck, additional patches would simply impact the game environment and not the toons.
2
Avalon
Still suffering from the patch, Avalon pressed his hand against his pounding forehead as he and the others followed Blair. Despite passing several clusters of huts interspersed along the grassy land, there didn’t seem to be a clear direction of where they were going.
A pat on his back was followed by Digger’s voice. “You all right, Boss?”
“Fine.” Avalon lowered his hand. “Just still reeling a bit from the patch.” They had only submitted the form to make their guild, Elysium, a few days ago, but he wasn’t comfortable with being addressed like that. Sure, he was the leader, but it didn’t sound right. It was most likely going to take a little while before it felt right to his mind. Maybe after more group adventures, he’d feel more like their leader and less like the guy with the ideas and the willingness to voice them.
“You’re not feeling well.” Oliver didn’t seem to have been hit as hard by that patch as others.
“I’ll be fine.” Avalon tussled the kid’s hair. “You don’t need to worry about me.” It had been so comforting to take Oliver under his wing like a little brother. He still missed his actual younger brother, Henry, who was on a different ship heading to Nuevo Rio, but taking care of Oliver reminded Avalon of his promise to find Henry once they arrived at New Aspen. He looked forward to introducing them to each other.
“Okay,” Oliver said.
Thinking back to what Digger had called him, Avalon looked at the badger. “But I’m not sure I’m good with being called Boss just yet. I mean, at your job, did you actually call your boss that or did you call them by name?”
“That’s what I called them.” Digger grinned mischievously.
Due to his headache, Avalon wasn’t in the mood to argue the point, and even though he didn’t like the outcome, it was easier to concede. “Then I guess, I better just add it to the list of names I’m called and get used to it.” It seemed out of everyone in their guild, the patch was hitting him the hardest.
“List?” Gruso asked.
“Well—” Avalon shrugged, hoping to downplay the subject “—there’s the username I gave myself, boss, and…” his voice trailed off for a moment as he glanced around checking where Suada was so he could be sure to look in the opposite direction “the well-earned nickname Suada gave me.”
“Well-earned indeed, Wildthing.” Suada kept her undying sultry tone when speaking to him.
Avalon gritted his teeth. Since the cougar was also a member of Elysium, he did his best to hide how much her continuous flirting grated his nerves, and keeping his patience with it over the past couple of days had been one hell of a test.
“You know, Avalon,—” Blair glanced over her shoulder, “—as much as I’ve commended you since we ran the Forest of Eons, I’ve been wanting to know what possessed you to go crazy like that.”
Thinking back on their dungeon run, Avalon smiled at their first big success together. “It was more strategy than anything else. Even though I fight melee with a knife when necessary, my stats suck for melee. That left me with my claws and fangs as my best weapons, so I took my advice about inflicting an injury with the most effective real-life consequences.” He looked around, but there was still no sign that they were anywhere close to finding the Psychic Master.
Blair faced forward and hummed suggestively.
“What’s that about?” Avalon wanted to keep the conversation going to keep him distracted from his pain.
“Nothing important enough that it needs to be said now,” Blair said.
Avalon still wondered about it. Since meeting the Deer, she came across as someone never afraid to speak her mind, no matter the situation. And even though she never minced her words, it didn’t make sense for her to keep something to herself. “For the sake of keeping me from focusing on my headache, just say it, please.”
“All right then.” Blair nodded. “I always loved reading fantasy stories, and it just popped into my mind, but Avalon the Wild has a nice ring to it.”
“Yeah—” Avalon grimaced “—I really don’t need a name like that.”
“I like it.” Oliver sounded excited. “It sounds cool.”
The kid was the one person Avalon couldn’t bring himself to refuse. “All right, fine. But it can only be used in formal situations. Understand, everyone?”
Everyone took a brief turn expressing their agreement.
Suada chucked. “Looks like we just learned a valuable lesson.”
Avalon didn’t like the idea, even more so since Suada was the one mentioning it. “Meaning?”
“If we want something badly enough, we just have to convince Oliver to ask you,” Suada’s tone insinuated a little too much of her intentions.
“She has a point, Boss.” Digger nudged Avalon with his elbow.
“And I know better than the rest of them that your big-brother mentality is pretty strong when it comes to the kid,” Gruso said.
“Before the rest of you get too settled on the idea, I’m sure Avalon does actually have limits to what would actually work.” Thankfully, Blair was being the voice of reason.
“Yes, I do. Even with Henry, there were some things he knew I would say no to.” As much as he didn’t want to think about his pain, Avalon needed something else to talk about. “How is it all of you seem like the patch didn’t hit you as hard?” He raised his hand up to his forehead again, thinking a little bit of pressure would help alleviate his headache.
