Создатели Судьбы / The Creators of Destiny: Глава 22

Chapter 22

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 17:58

Shot! Crossbow behind my back, sword out of its sheath. Dodge. Duck under the sparkling paw of the tree standing on the roots, cut the resigned root, bounce off the staggered foe.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 18:01

Dash! The shield struck a tangle of branches, behind which flashed two lights that were the elemental's eyes.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 18:09

Strike! The sword cuts through the wooden ribs, and the cold fire flares up and goes out. The elemental begins to disintegrate, losing its "woody" appearance on the fly, becoming nothing more than a mist of magic, taking the form of an Ent.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 18:11

Another one.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 18:21

The foggy whirlwind left behind a rainbow cloud, not a pile from which to pick the loot. That was the "otherworldly substance," the one you couldn't put in your pocket. But you can put it on yourself. I stepped into the center of the cloud and turned clockwise, "winding" the light multicolored smoke around me. In player lingo, collecting the substance is called "sniffing the gas." And that pretty much accurately describes the process. After my first fights, I was just standing in the cloud, waiting for it to envelop me, and then I noticed that one turn speeds up the collection of substances threefold. So here I am, spinning as fast as I can.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 18:24

The Fog Field is a place where strange creatures emerge from the rifts of space and where players come to get their share of experience in the never-ceasing brawl.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 18:28

I'm afraid to go into the crypts, because either the half-orc or his mercenaries are probably waiting there. It's too early to go to the higher levels of the dungeons, so I'm here for the next six or seven levels.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 18:29

The Foggy Fields is near the city, and you can almost see the watchtowers of the gate from here. There are always guards here since the script suggests that this rift is permanent, and the local authorities could not leave it unattended. A little further away are the tents of the mobile hospital (packed with NPC guards, treatment is paid for by players), the camp fires of the guards' camp, and the tables of the fence-keepers.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 18:39

The substance, which now appears dim and iridescent ribbons of mist wrapped around me, is a valuable magical ingredient. Though from one elemental, it's not very valuable, if you wrap a layer of half a hundred slain foggers around you, you'll glow with even rainbow light, and then you'll have to go to the collectors. They'll give you a token for each "peace of the rainbow," and you're welcome to the guards' tent if you collect those tokens. Local superstition - only light strangers can wear things from other worlds, the natives do not risk, they have some creepy legends about what happens to sapient people who risk using clothing from other worlds.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 18:59

Equipment is exchanged for tokens - usually without any bonuses, but sometimes you can get something interesting. The more "wrapped up," the more you get, all as in a normal dungeon. They say that the chance of a successful purchase affects the reputation, but this is a rumor.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:05

True, not everyone runs to the stores, because the more wraps of mist, the less aggressive the monsters are. And the farther you can go into the depths, to the center of the field - to the place where the fog monsters are really strong and dangerous, and thus give more experience. Near the center now stood a group of six or seven, barely visible in the fog floating out of the rift. I would have joined them, but...

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:08

According to my estimation, I will be noticed on the second day. And I would be evaluated on the third or fourth day when I would have to prove myself as a valuable member of the group.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:12

In the meantime, I should cock my crossbow and take aim at that foggy bird over there: judging by the glow of the aura, it's higher than Ent.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:13

"Paladin!"

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:12

Why do you have to yell?

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:15

"How are you? How's it going?"

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:15

I turned around and looked at the cheerful elf with the bow in his hands. Above his head glowed a green friend-list name.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:16

"Hello, Elariel. What are you doing here, aren't you level 27?"

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:17

"Already on the twenty-ninth! I raised it in a raid and got a bow there too! But I had to work hard for it!"

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:17

I noted to myself that the half elf was adhering to the treaty. That's commendable.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:22

"Paladin, would you like to join our group?"

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:24

I imitated thoughtfulness.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:24

"I could, I guess. But I "sniffing the gas" here."

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:27

"Come with us! You're like a level twenty, aren't you? I'm helping some friends. A girl has started playing Druid Healer, so I need to pump her up real quick."

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:44

"Well, if you go to the center, I would join. I want to go where the mobs are more fat, to get through."

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:45

"No problem, the guys will agree. We've got a good party, and we'll make it to the center! Hey, come on, everybody!"

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:46

From the edge of the field, three players began to approach cautiously, avoiding the elementals.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:47

A guy in heavy armor with a shield and axe, a mage, a girl in a green cape, and with staff.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:50

A balanced group - a tank, two DD, and a healer buffer.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:54

A player invites you to the party. Accept the invitation?

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:55

Yes.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:55

Let's see what I can do in the group.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:56

"Hello, everyone. I don't reveal my name because I took a vow. You may call me Paladin."

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:59

"Ellie, are you sure we need another one? We went well, didn't we?" There was a note of jealousy in the armored man's voice, apparently reluctant to give up his role as sole protector.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 20:06

"Her blessing be with us!" Blue sparks flew from my hand and enveloped the players around me in an instant, disappearing glow. "May Her light be our armor!" Now the sparks enveloped my sword, and as they flew off, they were left to burn on the armor of my fellow players. "And I could also heal and stun evil mobs."

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 20:09

"I've always said that a buffer in a group is very useful!" The armored guy nodded to me. "Mine's on the right side, yours is on the left, and Ila's in the aisle, she's got the slower spells. Ellie and Ticha are hitting from behind us. Have you ever had to tank?"

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 20:13

"There was an experience," I answered evasively, without specifying that the experience was fifteen years ago.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 20:16

"Good. Don't get too carried away with the damage... though how does a paladin get damage... Come on, Ellie, let's go!"

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 20:27

Well, that's how my future life will go. In a line of fighters or alone protecting mages and healers. My main strike force is behind me, all I have to do is stand, occasionally heal those fighting nearby, and make a lunge or two at a mob, forcing it to pay attention to me while the archers and mages prepare a deadly blow. The squad healer takes care of my life, while the monsters' lives are taken care of by the Damage Dealers. Stay and eat the EXP..

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 20:34

Boredom.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 20:18

The group worked like clockwork. The elf lured the monsters toward us, the druidess slowed them down, the armored guy and I kept them from getting to the mage, and the mage gave out killer spells. We took turns bathing in the fog, the druidess looked like a ghost, and she got more than the others, so the monsters wouldn't jump on the level fourteen player.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 20:43

Still, I didn't like it. I was used to waiting in crypts for the right moment, so I couldn't accept the fact that the group was working here and not me alone.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 20:45

The elf began to aim at the distant spirit, wandering slowly in a circle. It was a good idea of the developers - since incorporeal spirits come out of the breaches, here, in the creature world, they each get their own body, and no two are the same at the same time on the field. Everyone's skills and abilities are, of course, different. That's why we need the archer - it would draw out the spirits that the armored guy and I could distract, and leave out the ones that could strike remotely. In the foggy fields of the high levels, the monsters shuffled so bizarrely that it was hard to predict the outcome of even a single fight.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 20:52

"Darn! It's a mage!" The elf's voice distracted me from my thoughts. Thirty paces away, a three-legged tornado-like fog column arched the top of the funnel toward us and threw a green lightning bolt at Elariel. For some reason, the lightning was moving at the speed of a running man, and I sprinted toward it.

Camrad_RIP 27.09.22 в 08:32

Strike! The shield on my arm flinched, and I slashed along it. The tentacle, which turned out to be a lightning bolt, jerked away. The druidess connected, and the tornado's legs began to entangle the grasses, but it did not affect the spirit's speed; it simply dissolved the tangles and grew new ones.

Camrad_RIP 27.09.22 в 09:55

The funnel leaned toward us, and two tongues darted out, toward me and the armored guy. I managed to jump, leaning over, under the flying tentacle, but my partner was knocked down. The mage immediately struck with a fireball, but the fire did little damage to the fog vortex. He paid no attention to the elf's arrows or my Evil Exorcism. The girl finally figured it out and, after she'd stopped cupping her footman, she waved her hands, summoning some kind of Nature's magic. The vortex faded, became less swift, and finally, my attacks began to lower his health. The mage connected, summoning lightning, and with a loud pop the vortex scattered into a dozen small whirlwinds, scattered with mist.

Camrad_RIP 27.09.22 в 10:02

"Ugh... I used up all my mana. I'm going to drink up now." Ila crouched on the ground, taking a flask from her bag. The mage and the swordsman joined her.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:40

Boring. I was just warming up.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:29

"Guys, while the mages are recovering, I'll try to kill that one myself. When you're rested, you're welcome to join in." And I moved toward the six-legged bear wandering nearby, pulling my crossbow from behind my back as I went.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.22 в 19:39