Chapter 10 - Ascension Protocol

  Robert hammered the nail through the thin leather strap and into the side of his oaken staff with a loud crack as the iron nail struck through the wood. He was unfamiliar with the feel of the miniature tools provided by Zurni the goblin but made do with what he was given. He set the small hammer aside and tugged on the strap until the leather creaked under the strain. This should hold, he thought as he swung the staff across his back to test the fit. He had grown tired of carrying the bulky wood in his hands and had crafted the sling to make the travel ahead a little easier.

  Standing awkwardly on the slanted deck of the airship that now rested diagonally against the snowy mountainside to his right, Robert straightened up and made sure the bottom of the staff would not drag against the floor when walking. Not bad, he thought, unsure why he had not made something like this sooner. He looked around the snow-covered deck for the rest of his party. The blizzard had finally ceased, and they were making preparations for their next test of fate.

  "This is it?" Varg rumbled as he picked up a great maul made of darkened steel from Zurni and the two other goblins who had awkwardly dragged the massive thing up from below deck. "Do you not have blades on this cursed ship?"

  "What do you mean this is it?" Zurni screeched back, his voice sharp enough to feel like daggers in Robert's ears. "The rest of the armory was left behind with the previous orc crew at the manor your lot burned down."

  "Oh wait, I forgot you were the unconscious one who was carried aboard," Zurni sneered with a hideous grin.

  "Bah," Varg replied with a grunt as he held up the massive maul with one hand toward the dark clouds still rolling above them. The head of the weapon was an undecorated block of steel. The staff, almost the length of Robert's own, was also steel with a beveled grip, its end sharpened into a serrated spike.

  "This is going to be a problem, priest," Varg said as he glanced toward him. "Most of my skills require a sword to activate. This will be like starting over for me."

  "It is just temporary, Varg," Robert replied. "At least until we find something else. Besides, maybe it will grow on you."

  "Perhaps," Varg said as he contemplated the maul. He looked back down toward Zurni. "Do you at least have a sheath for this ridiculous thing?" he barked as he pointed a thumb toward his back.

  Zurni looked Varg up and down before answering. "If it stops your complaining, I think we can craft ya something."

  Alice strode up to them wearing one of the oversized orcish black coats that dragged along the deck floor like some grand ceremonial robe. Her Helm of Fortitude, the same one that had saved them back at the Swamp Baron's manor, was buckled at her waistband. She carried a blackwood orc shortbow provided by the goblins, although in her small frame it looked more like a human’s longbow.

  "Are we ready?" she called out as a gust of icy wind swept across the ship's large wooden deck.

  "Zurni, how long until the ship is airworthy?" Brukk roared as he exited the captain's quarters behind them. The orc now wore a simple black leather vest and leggings across his massive frame. Is he not affected by the cold, Robert thought.

  "The crew is doing the best they can, Captain. Chopping wood from the other ship's mast is taking longer than expected given the damage we sustained. We also cannot guarantee she will fly again once the repairs are done," he screeched.

  "No excuses, Zurni. Do your duty or your crew wages will not be paid," Brukk growled.

  "Yes sir," Zurni screeched back with a sharp salute, one small green arm snapping across his yellow tunic.

  Wages? What wages, Robert thought.

  "Humans, are we ready to quest?" Brukk asked as the large grey orc strode toward them.

  "I think so," Robert replied. "Where is Oswin though?"

  "The enchanter is below deck helping chop wood," Zurni cut in.

  "Is that why you are standing there being useless, Zurni? Letting others do your work for you?" Brukk replied with clear disdain.

  "No sir," Zurni answered with another sharp salute.

  "Then go get that enchanter back here," Brukk said in a low growl.

  Without another word, the small goblin waddled toward the bow’s stair passage leading below deck.

  They had spent the hour earlier reviewing quests between Robert’s original party and Brukk, ultimately choosing one of Oswin’s that would have them find something called a snowsaber in the snowy plains beneath the Frostmire mountain range. It seemed simple enough for the group to accomplish while Zurni and his remaining goblin crew worked on repairing the orc frigate.

  "How are we going to get down the mountain?" Robert asked as he looked at the steep grey jagged rocks jutting through the snow along the mountainside. He looked upward, unable to see the mountain’s peak as it vanished into the clouds above.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  "Climb, human. How else do you scale mountains in this world?" Brukk asked with a confused growl.

  We do not, Robert thought, or at least he had never climbed a mountain in his life, having spent the majority of it on flat dirt.

  "Just descend slowly, Robert, and mind your hands in the cold. We have no winter gear other than these giant coats, and they will do little to protect our fingers from frostbite." She paused a moment, looking at her own hands gloved in thin leather. "Do your heals work against the cold?" she asked, curious.

  "Good question," he said, unsure. He knelt down, picked up a handful of white snow from the ship's deck, and squeezed it tight, letting the cold burn into his palm. He released it and showed everyone the redness left by the frost. Then he pulled his staff from his back and cast his Basic Heal on himself. The pain in his hand vanished at once as its color returned to its normal hue.

  "Interesting. It seems like my heals may help keep us warm, at least for a brief moment," he said as he felt the cold already creeping back into his uncovered hand. "But I have no mana potions, so we should take frequent breaks to warm our limbs within our coats whenever possible."

  "It’s settled then," Varg barked as he smacked Robert hard on the back with his large hand. "Now where is that bloody goblin with my new sheath?"

  After a short wait and a heated exchange between Zurni and Varg about the quality of the great maul sheath’s fit on Varg’s back, the party was finally ready to depart the ship.

  "Take the ladder as far down as it will go," Brukk called out to the group as he threw one of the rope and wood ladders over the side of the ship’s hull opposite the side resting against the mountain.

  Robert watched as the big orc threw a bootless foot over the side of the ship when HUD began flashing rapidly across his vision.

  [System: Warning!]

  [System: Ascension protocols activating...]

  [System: Current active quests are now being canceled...]

  [System: Quest - The Snowsaber has been canceled...]

  "What’s happening to us, Robert?" Oswin called out behind him, fear sharp in his voice.

  “I do not know, Oswin,” Robert replied in confusion as more green script filled his vision.

  [System: Ascension protocols have activated. Fate Quest Draws have been suspended…]

  [System: Ascension Protocol 1 activated. Fate Quest Draws have been replaced with Trials of Ascension…]

  [System: Ascension is the process of upgrading your current base class to a more specialized class, inheriting the base class’s primary skills and traits. Upon successful Ascension you will be provided a random draw of 3 ascended classes to choose from. Failure to ascend in the allotted time will result in the forfeiture of remaining days of the Hour Unspent.]

  “What does it mean, forfeiture of the hour unspent?” Oswin cried.

  “Shut up, human, and read,” Brukk growled from the edge of the deck.

  [System: Trials of Ascension are classified into 3 types: Trials of Combat, Trials of Passage, Trials of Speed, Trials of Redemption, and Trials of Damnation (PKs Eligible Only).]

  [System: Each trial presents its own challenges on the road to Ascension, and each in turn will be described further if drawn during the Trials of Ascension Random Draw.]

  [System: Trials of Ascension Random Draw allocates a random trial to each adventurer or adventurer party. No selection will be made, and each trial will be assigned at random by the system, taking into account party size, world location, and aggregated party level.]

  [System: With this protocol in consideration, the Trials of Ascension are optional. If an adventurer, or party of adventurers, chooses to partake in the Trials of Ascension, risks will be much greater than Quests of Fate, with the potential reward of ascending to a much stronger class if successfully completed.]

  [System. Parties will be locked for the duration of the Ascension Protocol. Ascension Protocol concludes once all parties have ascended or have run out of the Hour Unspent. No further information will be provided.]

  [System: Warning! Party Lock occurring in 30 seconds…]

  “Thirty seconds, what do we do?” Oswin said in a panic.

  Robert scanned the deck as HUD counted down.

  [System: Warning! Party Lock occurring in 25 seconds…]

  Varg, Oswin, Brukk, and Robert huddled around the ladder descending over the ship’s railing toward the mountain below.

  “What about the goblins?” Robert asked as he looked toward Varg, who still seemed to be concentrating while hurriedly reading the script filling his vision. “Should we party with them?”

  “Party Lock?” Varg rumbled after a delayed moment.

  [System: Warning! Party Lock occurring in 15 seconds…]

  “We need them to fix the bloody ship,” Brukk growled. “Zurni! Stay partied with the rest of the crew and do not take whatever this ascension trial is,” he roared across the deck.

  “Aye aye, cap’n,” Robert heard Zurni screech back from somewhere toward the bow of the ship.

  [System: Warning! Party Lock occurring in 5 seconds…]

  “I guess this is our party then for the foreseeable future,” Alice said with a smirk. “What of these ascension trials? Do we partake?”

  “Bah, and pass up a prime power increase? Of course we partake!” Varg bellowed, finally finishing the green script in his vision.

  “I don’t believe we gain power if we are dead, Varg,” Robert replied as the countdown concluded.

  [System: Warning! Party Lock completed. All parties are now locked until The Trials of Ascension have concluded. This includes disallowing creating, joining or leaving a party.]

  [System: Ascension Protocol 2 activated. The decision…]

  [System: Your party has 30 seconds to decide whether or not to partake in the Trials of Ascension. Failure to collectively decide by the timer’s conclusion automatically enrolls the party into the Trials of Ascension.]

  Oswin collapsed with his back against the ship’s railing and placed his face in his palms. “I cannot take the stress, everyone, make the decision for me,” he cried.

  “Why does this human cry so much?” Brukk asked the rest of the group.

  “Get up, chanter, have some self-respect and make the decision with the rest of us,” Varg barked.

  “I am for Ascension,” Alice called out as she bent down, grabbed Oswin by the arm, and helped him upright.

  “Me as well,” Robert added. It can’t be much worse than the Raid of Stormskeep, he hoped.

  [System: Warning! You have 5 seconds left to make your decision…]

  “You know where I stand. What about you, orc?” Varg grumbled as frosty air huffed from his mouth while he spoke.

  “How did I manage to get myself into this situation with a flock of humans,” Brukk grumbled as he looked at the stump on his arm. “We ascend then. Perhaps by the end of it they may return my missing claw,” he added with a quiet growl.

  [Trails of Ascension Activated]