Orc Wars 2 : Lazarus

Chapter 114- The Floating Path Part Two

A few Kivhs later, the inevitable happened. Lazarus had prepared himself mentally for it but when the pain hit, he still collapsed groaning in agony. Blood trickled from his nose and ears as he hugged the cold icy marble. Clutching his pounding head, he curled helplessly into a foetal position. The only thing he felt was the suffocating constricting of his chest and the sharp piercing pain jabbing into his brain, nothing else mattered. It was worse than he remembered. The sudden onslaught had made him log out the last time. This time ... he was determined to endure it; he couldn't let the others down.

When the pain lessened, the Assassin opened his silver eyes. His vision was blurry and clouded with red. Red? He blinked and wiped his eyes. The back of his hand came away wet and stained with blood. Crap, he had to get moving before he became useless. What seemed like forever was actually only a few moments. Thankfully, no one had noticed. Everyone was too busy with their own tasks. Painfully, he heaved himself up and pulled-up the quest status.

LifeStone Group Quest Phase Three : Floating Path

11/30 Complete.

They needed another nineteen. A quick check on his friends confirmed the orcs' position. They were making steady progress with Constantine. Valentine too was further up. He should catch up before he lost sight of them. Drinking a bottle of potion to boost himself, he made his way to the others.

The raw marble bobbed and lurched, floating away in the opposite direction when stepped on or kicked by the humans who used it to launched themselves to the next rock. The Witch followed behind, lightly stepping onto the path. When a rock was too far, she simply waited until one came near enough. She was not in a hurry and the path was firm for her once her foot touched it.

The Witch had marvelled at the simple yet effective plan. With the Spell caster helping the grey ones, they would no doubt all make it across. It was a good way to conserve lives and prevent pointless falling off.

That left the two humans to complete the challenge. It would be tougher on them but ensured a higher success rate. The nimble Thief was going about the job efficiently. He worked faster and faster as he got the hang of the challenge. She watched him with narrowed eyes, he really should be careful ... it was almost time for the challenge to become more difficult. The group had reached the middle mark where they couldn't turn back and where the challenge would become harder.

Just then, the dark one let out a harsh cry and fell to his knees clutching his head. Blood trickled from his orifices. She watched as he lay flat on the rock he was on and curled up. The pain must be terrible indeed. His blue black miasma enveloped him like a thick blanket. Red streaks flashed amongst the darker tendrils signalling the beginning of the madness to come. Then it would be the end.

Her eyebrows lifted in amazement when he pushed himself up to drink again. Ahhh, he was not giving up? The human was a tenacious one. The brew he kept consuming must be powerful indeed to be able to keep him going. Without it, she was certain the dark one would have succumbed to his fate long before this. She observed him glancing around to get his bearings before moving forward.

Suddenly the Assassin jerked his face to the Thief's direction. Valentine was busy wrestling with a Kivh to notice the faint strange sounds coming from below him. Lazarus stared at the empty space below Valentine with an uneasy feeling. His Perception was warning him of something ... something was down there ... and moving up fast.

There! Movement! Danger!!

Without another thought, Lazarus leapt agilely nearer the Thief drawing his silver bow out. In one fluid motion he had nocked and let loose an arrow. It flew straight and true hitting the speck that was aiming for Valentine. The thing shrieked, the growing dark spot fell, diminishing in size again until it was gone.