The Lag (The Game Master: Book #1) by Alex Bobl Page B
Authors: Alex Bobl
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Fantasy, Epic, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Genre Fiction, Movie Tie-Ins, TV; Movie; Video Game Adaptations
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Canyon change so dramatically after the Storm? It's not normal. Had it been-"
"What do you want with him?" Yanna butted in without stopping. "He's only a schoolkid. Now you, you're a programmer. It's your job to know these things. You tell us."
Attila shook his head. "I have no answer yet. We need to get to the Valley and find out."
Chapter Six
B east parted the shrubs with his hands and stopped. Attila and Yanna walked around and stood next to him.
A deep hollow lay before them, forming a nearly-perfect circle. The Valley of Death. Rubble and boulders were heaped amid the sparse vegetation studded with motionless gray figures.
"There are people over there," Beast said in a hoarse whisper. "I think I can see them."
"They are statues, stupid," Yanna said.
"I know they are! I'm not talking about them. There, look, over at the tower."
The valley of Death used to belong to the large and prominent Highlanders clan who some six months ago had managed to cleanse River Castle from all the water spirits and moved over there. River Castle was closer to the Citadel; the area was more dangerous but admittedly better lootwise. The Highlanders didn't have enough people to man two large locations, so they'd gradually abandoned the valley which had stood deserted ever since.
Attila led their descent. The slope was steep. More than once he had to grab at the shrubs growing amongst the stones as the rocks crumbled underfoot.
They descended slowly, studying the hollow below. Its center was marked by the ruins of a castle once inhabited by Kromik — the famous orc shaman. All orcs were militant Barbarians living in synch with nature, so their shamans had a good grasp of elemental magic. Kromik was the greatest one of them. Nicknamed the Rock Shaman, he specialized in the element of Earth. But one day Kromik had made a tactical mistake by alienating the House of Twilight — the Drow, also known as Dark Elves, who too populated this area. Through the natural canniness of their nature, they dared not challenge the great wizard (for Kromik, according to the remaining evidence, was one powerful son of a gun). Instead, the Drow courted a nearby tribe of forest grummers setting them against Kromik's people. The grummers' leader was none other than Vlas, the hunchbacked cyclops and the proud owner of the two legendary hammers that used to belong to Wayland the Smith — the one who'd died in the war of Gods and Titans that had ravaged Gryad in its prehistory.
The Drow had so brainwashed the grummers that they'd declared war on Kromik. They surrounded the Castle and when the siege failed, they tried to storm it. As a result, both tribes had perished in battle, turning the Valley into what it now was.
"Weird location," Beast mumbled, losing his footing on the slippery slope. "I could never work out why anyone would need it."
"Why would anyone need the game at all?" Yanna said. "What exactly do you mean?"
"I agree with him," Attila said. "The place is weird. The location's story is good, it has lots of big fat mobs — but not much in terms of loot. You get a couple of chests stuffed with supplies if you're lucky, plus maybe some uncommon weapons, that's all."
"Exactly," Beast agreed. "The chests and supplies are fine, but how about the top prize? Imagine you have a raid, you smoke all the mobs to get to the Square Tower, and there you're met by Kromik himself. Never mind he's a ghost. So your raid starts killing him, and it's not easy, he's one strong bastard, and what do you get? The Stone Crown on top of the altar which gives you +50 to Life! Nothing else! The place is such a let-down! I really don't get it."
"What kinds of mobs are they?" Yanna said, anxious. "We really have no time for them."
"So you haven't been to the Valley yet?" Attila realized. "It's populated by spirits — that is, by the souls of the grummers whom Kromik had turned into statues. They siphon your life."
"So how am I supposed to kill them?
"What do you want with him?" Yanna butted in without stopping. "He's only a schoolkid. Now you, you're a programmer. It's your job to know these things. You tell us."
Attila shook his head. "I have no answer yet. We need to get to the Valley and find out."
Chapter Six
B east parted the shrubs with his hands and stopped. Attila and Yanna walked around and stood next to him.
A deep hollow lay before them, forming a nearly-perfect circle. The Valley of Death. Rubble and boulders were heaped amid the sparse vegetation studded with motionless gray figures.
"There are people over there," Beast said in a hoarse whisper. "I think I can see them."
"They are statues, stupid," Yanna said.
"I know they are! I'm not talking about them. There, look, over at the tower."
The valley of Death used to belong to the large and prominent Highlanders clan who some six months ago had managed to cleanse River Castle from all the water spirits and moved over there. River Castle was closer to the Citadel; the area was more dangerous but admittedly better lootwise. The Highlanders didn't have enough people to man two large locations, so they'd gradually abandoned the valley which had stood deserted ever since.
Attila led their descent. The slope was steep. More than once he had to grab at the shrubs growing amongst the stones as the rocks crumbled underfoot.
They descended slowly, studying the hollow below. Its center was marked by the ruins of a castle once inhabited by Kromik — the famous orc shaman. All orcs were militant Barbarians living in synch with nature, so their shamans had a good grasp of elemental magic. Kromik was the greatest one of them. Nicknamed the Rock Shaman, he specialized in the element of Earth. But one day Kromik had made a tactical mistake by alienating the House of Twilight — the Drow, also known as Dark Elves, who too populated this area. Through the natural canniness of their nature, they dared not challenge the great wizard (for Kromik, according to the remaining evidence, was one powerful son of a gun). Instead, the Drow courted a nearby tribe of forest grummers setting them against Kromik's people. The grummers' leader was none other than Vlas, the hunchbacked cyclops and the proud owner of the two legendary hammers that used to belong to Wayland the Smith — the one who'd died in the war of Gods and Titans that had ravaged Gryad in its prehistory.
The Drow had so brainwashed the grummers that they'd declared war on Kromik. They surrounded the Castle and when the siege failed, they tried to storm it. As a result, both tribes had perished in battle, turning the Valley into what it now was.
"Weird location," Beast mumbled, losing his footing on the slippery slope. "I could never work out why anyone would need it."
"Why would anyone need the game at all?" Yanna said. "What exactly do you mean?"
"I agree with him," Attila said. "The place is weird. The location's story is good, it has lots of big fat mobs — but not much in terms of loot. You get a couple of chests stuffed with supplies if you're lucky, plus maybe some uncommon weapons, that's all."
"Exactly," Beast agreed. "The chests and supplies are fine, but how about the top prize? Imagine you have a raid, you smoke all the mobs to get to the Square Tower, and there you're met by Kromik himself. Never mind he's a ghost. So your raid starts killing him, and it's not easy, he's one strong bastard, and what do you get? The Stone Crown on top of the altar which gives you +50 to Life! Nothing else! The place is such a let-down! I really don't get it."
"What kinds of mobs are they?" Yanna said, anxious. "We really have no time for them."
"So you haven't been to the Valley yet?" Attila realized. "It's populated by spirits — that is, by the souls of the grummers whom Kromik had turned into statues. They siphon your life."
"So how am I supposed to kill them?
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