The proper words came to Killum. "Your service is over. Return to the grave! Begone!"
The zombies fell bonelessly to the ground and remained still.
"That was fun," Rand said. He grinned at Killum. "You might want to hang onto that damned object. It comes in handy."
"Yeah. No," Killum said, finally able to release it. The Staff of Calling and its harness dropped to the ground. His hands and arms were still cold and began tingling, like when the blood has been cut off. He could barely move his fingers. "I'm not Dark enough to use that thing. And I don't intend to get that Dark, either."
Congratulations! You've earned enough experience points to move up one level. You are now a Level 14 battle-mage!
Congratulations! You've assisted in 5 Player Kills and successfully used a Dark Object of Power, thus giving you 3 Points to Dark!
Killum quickly checked his stats, relieved to see no more PKs were listed, but he was up to Level 14 as a battle-mage, but his alignment had changed to -4 Dark. And his mana was down to 34. His Health, Strength, and Endurance were barely affected.
"Oh man, I went one point towards Dark because of player kills," Tiana muttered.
Tiana. Human thief (Lvl 15). -1 Dark. PK: 6.
"It's not all bad," Rand said. "These brigands all have purses, as do the travelers. Plus I see two pack mules we can use to haul all of these weapons to Knaresburg. This is going to be our biggest payday yet."
All Killum could think about was that Staff of Calling, and how evil it felt in his hands. He might've turned the tide of battle with it, but they were all unclean kills.
"Fine. Collect all of the valuables and load up the mules," he said. Staring off toward the north. "Let's get our asses to Knaresburg. I need a beer, or twelve."
Chapter 21
Asha froze, listening intently. She cocked her head left, then right. The elfmaid quickly zeroed in on the direction of the sounds. A woman's squeal of delight, followed by her laughter allowed the sorceress to relax. Happy people weren't generally dangerous.
Moving quickly towards the laughter, she soon heard two deeper male voices. One was very deep and hard to understand from a distance. She finally discovered two males and two women walking along a trail and heading toward Oxenbluff. One male and one female were human, with another male turning out to be an ork. The last female was an elf.
"Elfmaid," the ork said, pointing at Asha.
They all stopped and three of them put hand to hilt. The elfmaid travelling with them was not armed. Asha paused to study them a second.
Coop. Human Dark Paladin (Lvl 20). -31 Dark. PK: 48.
Coop was tall and slim, but still looked muscular and strong under his black armor. He was handsome, but in a fierce, scary way. The paladin's hair was long and tied back. He looked familiar, and it took a moment to realize she knew him from the previous realm.
Joss. Human witch (Lvl 19). -22 Dark. PK: 12.
Asha nodded. Joss, Coop, and Krakus were a team. Joss was their spellcaster, their witch. All were proudly Dark, though not really evil. She had the impression they were what the Americans called "rednecks" and "good ole boys." As she recalled, they tended to spend more time drinking and partying in the pubs than out grinding away.
The next one in line surprised her.
Deidra. Elven Ranger (Lvl 25). +35 Light. PK: 1.
If she remembered correctly, Deidra was the player that Daphne said discovered the Deadman's Swamp dungeon, and had vanished. Asha found her. The elven ranger was beautiful in the previous realm, and then became drop-dead gorgeous in the Hidden Realms. Asha felt a ping of jealousy. Deidra's hair was long and blonde, eyes like a mountain lake, and the elfmaid's soft leather outfit fit her like a glove.
What is someone so deep in the Light doing with three people so deep in the Dark?
The last one was a seven foot tall ork in mismatched armor and a black wolf's pelt loincloth, with numerous knives and daggers strapped all over his body. He had a sword on both hips, and another pair crossed across his back. The end of his left tusk was broken off, and he had battle scars, ritual scars, and tattoos on all exposed skin, including his face.
"Hi, Krakus," Asha said when he looked her over appreciatively.
Krakus. Ork warrior (Lvl 19). -14 Dark. PK: 23.
He was even bigger and scarier looking in the new realm. She figured he doubled his mass, becoming taller and thicker. And it was all muscle, too.
"Long time no see, Asha," Joss said. She was looking the sorceress over, too, but not looking pleased. "This forest is overrun with elves lately."
"I know. This is supposed to be goblin country," Krakus said. "But elves are prettier."
"We're heading into town," Coop said. Asha remembered he was their official leader, but Joss generally got her way. "You're welcome to join us if you want."
"Oxenbluff?"
"No, New York City," Joss said. She was still looking Asha over, more intently. "You've been in a fight. That's goblin blood."
Asha shrugged. "A goblin village invited me to dinner, as the main course. I objected." She smiled brightly at them. "After some…um…persuasion, they let me continue on my way."
Krakus laughed. "Yes! You were always known for your love of persuasion."
Coop was looking past her at that time. "Where's the rest of your motley crew of meat shields?"
She stiffened. Some haters back in the old realm spread the rumor that Asha used her friends and allies to take all of the hits while she hung back and used her magic.
"Oxenbluff," she lied. "I got killed and had to start over again."
"Ouch. Been there. Done that," Joss said. "Don't want to go there again."
"Of course not," Coop laughed. "You've got five deaths. That next one is going to be a doozy."
Krakus and Coop laughed, but Joss didn't. Neither did Deidra. In fact, Deidra hadn't spoken or even paid attention to Asha. The elven ranger just stood there staring off into space.
"What do you mean? Does the number of deaths matter in this realm?"
"Hell yes," Joss said. "You know that fifteen seconds of hell you went through before respawning?" Asha nodded, unable to forget that ordeal. "Well, that is a mere hint of this realm's Purgatory."
Krakus stepped up to Asha, taking a lock of her long black hair between two fingers. Then he leaned down close to her face, making her eyes go wide. Her fight or flight instinct kicked in on full alert.
"If you die five times within a ninety day period, then your time in Purgatory starts to escalate," Krakus' deep base growled at her. "I hear it is even worse than what we feel after death. The demons in Purgatory have more time to do unspeakable things to you. It's. Pure. Hell."
"Stop sugar-coating it, Krakus," Coop said. "How many times have you died, girl?"
"Just once," she lied, and didn't know why. Asha got a bad vibe from them. "This is only my second day here."