“That and your nameplate,” AyAyRon added. Garath didn’t need a nameplate to know this one was the party’s shit-head (Bard).
The Necrologist’s face flattened as he looked at the adolescents, reconsidering whether he liked them at all. “Savage. Hey did I see you playing an Ocarina out there?” he asked AyAyRon.
The freckle-spotted young man’s eyes lost focus for only a second as he pulled his instrument from a tear in space that opened at his will. AyAyRon held it up for Garath to see. “You did if your eyes were open. It’s kind of hard to tell where you’re looking though, with the glowing thing. What’s that about anyway?”
“Happened when I chose my Class,” Garath explained with a shrug. “So, your Class is listed as Minstrel. The description sounded legit but I don’t play any instruments, so I passed on that one. Did you get the Ocarina as a starting item or did you just happen to have it with you when this all went down?”
“It was a starting item. The ‘System’,” the boy put up exaggerated air-quotes with his hands, “gave me a few options. But like, there really wasn’t an option. Had to get the Ocarina. I mean, I already know all the songs.”
“You don’t mean…” Garath started. No way this kid was even a thought in his daddy’s loins when the N64 changed Garath’s life with Ocarina of Time.
“Yeah, Ocarina of Time. Don’t worry about it, it’s probably before your time.”
“Ha. Ha. Ha,” he laughed humorlessly, but decided that he did like the little shits, even if they were little shits. “Good one kids. Listen, the next wave is about to start. Let’s all get to positions.”
Chapter 18
Just More Undead, Please?
Begin Combat Log:
[17:01:59:82] Your Blight inflicts 7 damage (Death) on Skeletal Tamer.
[17:01:59:82] Your Blight inflicts 7 damage (Death) on Skeletal Tamer's Dragonling.
[17:02:59:02] Your Death Bolt strikes Skeletal Tamer's Dragonling for 27 damage (Death).
[17:02:59:82] Your Blight inflicts 7 damage (Death) on Skeletal Tamer.
[17:02:59:82] Your Blight inflicts 7 damage (Death) on Skeletal Tamer's Dragonling.
[17:03:01:91] Your Death Bolt strikes Skeletal Tamer's Dragonling for 28 damage (Death).
[17:03:01:91] You have slain Skeletal Tamer's Dragonling.
[17:03:01:91] You have been awarded 393 Experience for slaying Level 18 Dragonling.
[17:03:04.09] Skeletal Tamer's Bow Shot strikes You for 31 damage (Physical).
[17:03:05.1] Your Death Bolt strikes Skeletal Tamer for 56 damage (Death)(Critical Hit).
[17:03:05.1] You have slain Skeletal Tamer.
[17:03:05.1] You have gained 455 Experience for slaying level 16 Skeletal Tamer.
End Combat Log.
Garath winced as he pulled the protruding arrow from his arm. The evening sun hung suspended in the sky over the Pacific, painted crimson by a filter of thick smoke rising from burning buildings as far as the eye could see.
The Skeletal Archers of the previous waves had been replaced for the sixth wave of The Culling by Skeletal Tamers with fierce Dragonlings. The subservient winged reptiles - roughly the size of an eagle - sent bolts of impossibly hot fire from their fanged mouths, laying waste to the city at large. Even the sturdy brick school building had taken a beating from the fire breathing fuckers and, with the surrounding neighborhood ablaze, it was starting to become clear to Garath that The Band of the Hawk may need to abandon their stronghold.
Though the time reflected on his MENU panel showed 17:03, Garath (along with the rest of The Band) was used to Pacific Standard time - in which the same moment in time would be numerically valued at just after 8:00PM. The Band had been fighting for seventeen hours and, even for gorging on an actual video game in the comfort of his computer chair, that was pushing the limits for anyone. The luxury of frequent breaks and running water had been a Godsend, but adrenaline and the bit of luck they had were running out.
As the clock ticked toward 17:30, when the gap between waves six and seven would provide a welcome half hour of rest for all of them, Garath worried. For the first time since his apartment went dark and the first prompt appeared, he worried.
"I'm going to sit down," Garath said to the exhausted Hawks fighting beside him outside the doors. Another rest-break wasn’t exactly vital for the Necrologist at the moment, but they had already managed to get the hang of this wave. The trick, they had found, was to first bring down the Dragonling, making its Tamer no more than a Skeletal Archer like those they had already fought. Garath had also managed to keep a loose track of the Undead Legionnaires that spawned in the surrounding area and, by his count, only one more of the commanders was scheduled to respawn before the next half-hour break. He was sure the hawkies could handle it. "You guys alright here?"
"We're all tired, G. But yeah, we got this,” Warrion Jested. “You go on and take a break to do your makeup.”
"Thanks,” Garath replied, ignoring the jab. “Actually Warrion, see if you can get someone to cover for you too and meet me in the main hall."
Garath turned back and looked fondly at the scrawny, snarky Assassin and smiled. He had never really known Warrion even the two of them had only lived two doors away and had similar interests. Garath had never really had friends though, not in the real world. The closest thing to a friend he had ever had would’ve been another loaner gamer that went by the tag ‘Auto’. The two of them met playing World of Warcraft and had played through a handful of other MMOs together over the course of almost a decade. Yet, as he looked at Warrion - silently cursing himself for not remembering his real name - he found that he quite liked the snarky Assassin.
‘Who else…’ Garath thought to himself, smiling briefly as he passed the healers still flinging restorative spells to the fighters outside.
"Athios, Sharon, Gary, Raul, TodoroKen, and anyone not currently fighting at the doors - meet
