CHAPTER 11.5: THE CIRCLE IN THE MIST (PART V– ATTACK PHASE)
December 14, 2:58 PM JST / 9:58 PM ES (Eldora Standard)
Eldora, Northern Lunarest Outskirts, Border Road to Lunaris (Night in game)
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Cold mist still clung to the hollow like a second skin.
From where Rin lay on the slope, the burned-out lantern halos down by the road were nothing but smudged memory now, ghosts of light hanging over a dull smear of fire inside the tent. The only real glow came from that lazy orange and the faint green pulse thudding against his chest from the Call of the Bones necklace under his shirt, a soft heartbeat of mana at the edge of his HUD.
He shifted his chin, eyes working through the haze.
Directly below, the road cut straight through the hollow, a dark strip of beaten dirt. Old wheel grooves from past wagons had chewed deep lines into it; now they were shallow trenches full of muddy water.
To Rin's left, the western tree line loomed, trunks and branches sinking into fog so thick the nearest shapes looked like half-drowned giants. To Rin's right, the ground climbed back toward the hill where the Thrash rally camp was.
"Three years wanting into HGO and this is where I land," Rin thought, swallowing once as his mind raced, nerves and excitement tangling in his chest.
"I gambled everything to get here. I cannot afford a seven day lock and a 'sorry, Chiyo, please handle the Tabuchis for me.' This is my shot. I fix this myself. For Dad. For Mom. For Taji and Momo…"
Phase one was set.
Rin lay halfway up the slope, ten paces from the tent, dead center on the crossbar of their rough T, with a clean angle on the triangle of runes he had carved into the ground. The three points glowed faintly in his vision, anchor nodes waiting for mana.
Tikka pressed into the slope just behind his right shoulder at the top of the stem of the T, the top of her head barely reaching his upper arm when she crouched. Her breath warmed the back of his neck, eyes wide and bright in the dark, fixed on the tent.
Krok had taken position lower on the left, about six paces downslope from Rin and three paces out from the tent's left wall, crouched behind a clump of rock. Even half hidden, Rin could see the compact bulk of Krok, a broad, thick goblin, shorter than Rin by a head but twice as wide through the chest.
Muzzle mirrored him on the right side, six paces down and three out from the canvas, tucked in behind a sagging bush and the curve of the terrain. Stocky, heavy-shouldered, just under Rin's chin in height when they stood level.
In the mist, all Rin really got were their silhouettes, squat shapes hugging the ground, straps and metal glinting when they shifted.
Drosh waited three paces behind Rin and slightly to his left, the tall line at the back of the formation. As a hobgoblin, Drosh had another half head on Rin, longer limbs and reach, blade hanging low and steady, weight settled, eyes never leaving the tent flap.
Mist beaded on Rin's lashes. He blinked it away, flexing his fingers against the damp grass.
"Alright," Rin thought. "Trap is set. Either crawl out of that hole swinging, or die choking on goblin fart and hot breath. If I was them, I would rather go out fighting than get farmed by ass gas."
He lifted his hand toward the right.
"Muzzle," Rin whispered. "I need a light gas curtain along the base of the tent on the right side. Move up to that wall, keep a low profile, and stay quiet while you cast."
Muzzle eased out of his cover, boots careful on the damp grass. Rin tracked him from the corner of his eye as he slid the last few steps until he was a short sprint away from the right-hand canvas, close enough that Rin could see the strain in his shoulders through the haze. Then Muzzle dropped into a half crouch.
Up close, what Rin could pick out through the mist was a darker, mossy green, deep lines carved into the corners of Muzzle's eyes and mouth. Old burn scars tugged along one cheek when he clenched his jaw. Leather straps across his barrel chest creaked as he drew in a deep, steady breath that pushed his ribs out against them.
Rin heard the inhale more than he saw it, a quiet drag that made the mist in front of Muzzle's face tremble.
Muzzle exhaled.
A narrow stream of pale green mist shot forward, almost invisible until it caught a hint of glow through the tent fabric. It hit the ground along the right wall, splashing against dirt and roots, then rose, hugging the side of the canvas before curling beneath like smoke searching for lungs.
[SKILL: TOXIC BREATH – ACTIVE]
Area contamination: Light
Status potential: Nauseous, accuracy down, movement speed down.
On the left flank, Krok shifted behind his rock, eyes flicking upslope toward Rin, little legs already tensed to move.
"On your word, boss," Krok breathed.
"Mirror him," Rin whispered. "Left wall, same distance. Keep it low and heavy. Do not knock yourself out on your own fumes."
Krok huffed a ragged little laugh that sounded more nerves than humor.
"If I do, I am taking at least one of them with me," Krok muttered.
Rin watched him go.
Krok moved down the slope, big bare feet digging into mud as he eased level with Muzzle on the other side. From Rin's angle, Krok was a thicker shadow against the fog, just three paces off the canvas, then he braced.
He sucked in air until his gut swelled, then let it loose.
[SFX: BRRRRRR]
The sound rolled up the hill, muffled by canvas and mist but still low and unmistakable.
[SKILL: GOBLIN GAS – ACTIVE]
Area saturation: Medium
Status potential: Nauseous stacks, accuracy down, spell focus impaired.
The first cloud burst out of Krok in a thick, warm wave. His cheeks stretched and puffed, the sound low and obscene. It shoved the cold air aside, carrying the worst stench Rin had ever encountered, worse than mop day in the back room at WattsUp, worse than rotting leftovers behind Tokyo train stations.
The cloud slammed into the left side of the tent and crawled upward and under like a living thing.
The mist outside shivered, currents changing around the fabric walls.
Inside, a cough snapped out, sharp and ugly.
"What was that noise?" Joss complained, voice already nasal. The dwarf's words came out rough and gravelly over the scrape of a chair moving. "And what is that smell? It smells like something died."
New icons flickered above the tent in Rin's HUD, four tidy little warnings popping into existence at once.
[STATUS: Nauseous Lv.1 – Applied]
[STATUS: Nauseous Lv.1 – Applied]
[STATUS: Nauseous Lv.1 – Applied]
[STATUS: Nauseous Lv.1 – Applied]
The scent reached Rin a heartbeat later, sour and herbal with a chemical edge that tickled his sinuses and burned faintly at the back of his throat. It sat wrong, like medicine that had gone off.
"Shut up, Joss," another voice snapped, Lyn's. Her tone was clipped and precise, vowels a little too clean, the way Elven casters sounded when they were trying not to lose their temper. "Icons just ticked."
Lyn's shadow slid across the tent wall, a slim profile turning, one hand coming up to swipe through her interface. Rin saw the faint outline of her staff as she shifted in her chair, shoulders tightening as she checked her own bar.
Another cough, deeper, rattled out of the tent.
"Same," Talo rumbled. The Beastfolk's voice had that chest-deep growl, fur muffling the edges. "Nauseous stacks ticking. We are getting gassed by something."
"We are in a tent, idiots," Rian snapped. Rin recognized the human's baritone instantly, coming tight with irritation. Metal scraped on dirt as Rian moved, plate shifting with practiced clanks. "Nobody went out to relight the lamps when they all went dark, and now we have stink in the dark.
Something crept up on us. Pop a cheap antidote if you are nervous, then armor on and buffs up. Do not panic."
Glass clinked. Cork popped. Someone fumbled with a belt pouch.
[ITEM USED: Cheap Detox Draught]
Effect: Reduces Nauseous stacks by 1. Duration: Instant.
"Antidote down," Joss muttered. Rin heard stout fingers tighten once around the bottle before Joss set it aside. "Icons dropping. See? It is fine."
For half a breath, the status flickered above the tent in Rin's HUD.
[STATUS: Nauseous Lv.1 → Lv.0]
[STATUS: Nauseous Lv.1 → Lv.0]
[STATUS: Nauseous Lv.1 → Lv.0]
[STATUS: Nauseous Lv.1 → Lv.0]
Then Krok's reeking cloud curled deeper under the canvas and Muzzle's stream thickened to a creeping haze.
[STATUS: Nauseous Lv.0 → Lv.1]
[STATUS: Nauseous Lv.1 → Lv.2]
[STATUS: Nauseous Lv.2 → Lv.3]
Lyn gagged, the sound wet through the tent wall.
"You have got to be kidding me," Lyn choked. "The stacks are coming back up. I am not chain chugging these for a broken trash event. I do not have the money to regain from this. Rian, make a call."
"Why is my health moving?" Joss snapped, the edge of panic creeping in. His dwarven accent thickened, words clipping shorter. "Can someone explain?"
Talo growled. Boots thumped as the big Beastfolk rose fully.
"We are in a tent full of poison, genius," Talo said, anger rough in his voice. "We stay in here, it will continue to apply inside since there is no exit."
Another cork popped. A swallowing sound. A potion bottle clacked against teeth.
[ITEM USED: Minor HP Potion]
HP restored: +25
HP lost to Nauseous Lv.3: -24 / tick.
Rin's HUD showed both Muzzle's and Krok's skill icons pulsing weakly, timers creeping.
"One more solid cycle and that is it," Rin thought. "Any more and I am the one griefing my own squad."
Inside the tent, Lyn's voice snapped again, sharper.
"Move aside," Lyn hissed. "I am cleansing."
[SKILL: CLEANSING PULSE – ACTIVE]
Caster: Lyn
Effect: Attempts to remove up to 2 negative status stacks from nearby allies.
A soft, bright chime rang inside the canvas. Purified air rippled out from Lyn's focus in a faint, silvery wave that Rin could see only as a brief, pale flicker against the tent wall.
[STATUS: Nauseous Lv.3 → Lv.1]
[RESIST: Toxic field persists. Reapplication likely.]
Lyn sucked in a thin breath through her teeth.
"I can drop stacks one more time," Lyn said, words tight and too precise. "Staff passive lets me recast Cleansing Pulse once before I burn my bar dry. After that, I am done. We either push out, or we bail on this and call Wraith. I am not wasting all my pots on what was supposed to be an easy farm, Rian."
Another cough rattled around the tent, thick and wet.
Rian's reply came back low and sharp.
"Yeah, I know we are burning resources," Rian snapped. "Hard to make calls when nobody listened in the first place. If somebody had actually gone out to relight the fire and the lanterns when they died, we would not be blind and guessing who is gassing us."
Rin could practically see the dwarf shrinking in his chair from up on the slope.
Inside the tent, Joss swore under his breath, chair legs scraping as he shifted his weight. He did not bother with an excuse. Heavy boots thumped once, twice, like he knew exactly where the blame had landed.
Talo's voice rolled over them, deep and steady even through the growl.
"Keep your heads," Talo said. "Stacks or not, if we start swinging in here, we slip and break our own necks. We need a plan on how we are taking this fight, not just yelling about whose fault it is."
A fresh tick rolled.
[STATUS: Nauseous Lv.1 → Lv.2]
"Fine," Rian said. "We have one cleanse left, Talo's racial, and Joss's ward. We use them getting out, not sitting here. Joss, ward everyone, not just me. Grab your gear, get ready. If there is an ambush outside, we take the fight where we at least have a better advantage. If it is too much, we cut our losses and ride."
Leather creaked. Someone tightened a strap. Metal clicked into place.
Talo snorted once, low.
"If it goes bad, you run," Talo said. "I will hold them as long as Inner Aegis lets me. That is the job."
Rian let out a sharp breath that sounded close to a laugh.
"Not a bad idea," Rian muttered. "Just try not to die on the opening pull."
[SKILL: FORGEGUARD WARD – ACTIVE]
Caster: Joss
Effect: Projects a frontal barrier that reduces incoming physical and elemental damage for a short time.
A low hum filled the tent. Faint lines of light crawled over Rian's shield and Talo's shoulders, then stretched out in front of them, coalescing into a thick, blocky dwarven sigil that hung like ghost-steel.
Outside, Rin dragged in a slow breath, eyes on his HUD.
Krok and Muzzle's HP bars both sat clean and full: 45 / 45.
Their stamina bars were the problem. Each one had started at 45 and now hovered just above red, barely scraping 15 / 45. They were still in squat position, still pushing gas. Every second was another chunk off their stamina.
"We needed two more full waves," Rin thought, teeth grinding. "We only got one in the tank."
He swallowed.
"Damn it. Fine. One last pass it is."
Rin raised his voice just enough to carry downslope.
"Muzzle," Rin whispered. "One more layer along that wall. Keep it thin, keep it steady. No heroics. Krok, match his timing on your side. This is the last pass. As soon as you feel your bar dip, you break and pull back. That is an order."
Muzzle inhaled again, shorter and harsher this time. The next stream came out lower, hugging the ground, hanging greasy along the canvas.
On the left, Krok mirrored him, cheeks puffing, gut swelling as he forced another wave of foul air out.
[SKILL: TOXIC BREATH – ACTIVE]
Area contamination: Medium
[SKILL: GOBLIN GAS – ACTIVE]
Area saturation: Medium
Gas hit both sides again, heavier, clinging. The air around the tent went from foggy to industrial accident, greenish streaks twisting through the mist hard enough to make Rin's eyes sting just looking at them.
[STATUS: Nauseous Lv.2 → Lv.3]
Inside, somebody choked loud, then gagged hard. Wet spit hit dirt.
"Okay, that is all I have before I choke on my own ass fumes," Krok rasped.
"My chest is burning already," Muzzle wheezed, one hand pressed to his ribs.
Rin flicked his eyes to their bars, both stamina lines down in the single digits, blinking.
"That is it," Rin thought.
"Fall back to me," Rin whispered. "Both of you. You have done your part. Get out of your own clouds and back up the slope."
They did not argue.
Krok pushed off the ground and staggered upslope, boots slipping once in the wet grass before he caught himself. Muzzle peeled away from the right wall, half crawling, half jogging along the line of the hill. Both of them moved past Rin's position and kept going until they were a good eight or nine paces behind him, just short of the rally's outer line. They bent over there, hands on knees, HP bars still full, stamina bars crawling back one tick at a time now that the gas was below them.
Rin stayed planted at the lip of the triangle. Tikka hovered just behind his right shoulder. Drosh waited three paces back and left, exactly where Rin wanted that blade when the last piece moved.
Talo growled low in his chest, preparing to buff as requested earlier.
[RACIAL ART: INNER AEGIS – PRIMED]
Race: Beastfolk
Effect: When lethal damage is taken, prevents fatal blow once and leaves user at low HP. Cooldown: Long.
A hand slapped metal. A boot slid in vomit. Someone cursed under their breath.
"Let us get this over with," Talo said, ready for Rian's call.
Lyn clicked her tongue in irritation, but she did not argue.
Up on the slope, Rin's fingers dug into his own knee.
"Tikka," Rin whispered, flicking two fingers downslope. "Get to the front of that flap. Stay just out of arm's reach. When it opens, you let them see you, you talk your shit, then you gas them and get your ass back here in one piece."
Tikka's reply came from just behind Rin's shoulder, low and electric.
"Let us have some fun," Tikka whispered.
She moved with haste as soon as Rin waved his fingers.
Tikka slid past him downslope in a low sprint, feet barely making a sound on the wet grass. She was smaller than Krok and Muzzle, wirier, skin a sharper, brighter green that almost glowed in the mist.
She cut across the dark shape of the dead firepit, the faint heat ghosts brushing her ankles, then slid into the shadow cast by the tent itself.
Inside, Rian started to count.
"On three," Rian said. "Talo first, Lyn middle, Joss behind. We get clear, you cleanse, we wipe whatever is up this hill. One."
Another dry heave. Armor scraped. Someone spat.
"Two."
Lyn's patience snapped as another gag climbed her throat.
"Fuck your count," Lyn hissed. "I am not sitting here waiting to vomit for you."
The flap jerked as she shoved it aside.
Lyn was the first out, slim Elven outline bending into the fog, staff in one hand, the other arm wrapped tight around her middle.
Nauseous Lv.3 made Lyn's shoulders stiff, her steps shorter than they should have been. She gagged once into her sleeve, then looked up.
No lanterns. No campfire. Just poisoned air and one goblin standing in front of the tent, eyes bright, grin sharp.
"I see you," Lyn spat. "You little bitch."
Further downslope, beyond Tikka, Rin watched two darker goblin silhouettes, Krok and Muzzle, already hauling themselves back up toward him, backs turned. To Lyn, they would just look like more bodies slipping into the fog.
"Rian," Lyn shouted over her shoulder. "We have at least three goblins out here and they are not running. Move your asses."
Tikka tilted her head, eyes narrowing, then bared her teeth in a grin.
"Bitch," Tikka called back, voice cutting through the mist. "Says the elf about to puke on her own boots."
Lyn cursed and lurched forward, one hand still braced on her stomach as she tried to close the distance. Every movement dragged against the debuff, slower and heavier, like she was fighting the air itself.
Behind Lyn, the tent exploded into motion.
Joss barreled through the flap next, Forgeguard Ward still flickering. Rian's heavier outline pushed out just behind him, shield up. Talo ducked through last, broad shoulders almost brushing the canvas. All four of them spilled into the hollow in a tight knot, already breathing hard, already stacked.
They were all out.
They were all in the triangle.
Tikka waited until Lyn was almost on top of her, barely a foot away, hand reaching, staff swinging.
Then Tikka turned, ass bobbing and aiming in the direction of Lyn and the group.
"Eat this, bitch," Tikka snapped.
[SKILL: GOBLIN GAS – ACTIVE]
Area saturation: Heavy (localized)
Status potential: Nauseous Lv.4, Overload trigger.
Tikka's gas blasted out in a tight, ugly burst, the cloud going point blank into Lyn and rolling over the others.
Lyn took the full hit. Rian, Joss, and Talo stepped through it a heartbeat later, eyes already watering.
[STATUS: Nauseous Lv.3 → Lv.4]
[STATUS EFFECT: Overload – Triggered.]
Lyn gagged so hard she doubled over.
"F–uck," Lyn choked, the rest of the word lost to dry heaving.
Stun icons snapped up over all four outlines in Rin's vision.
[STATUS: Stunned – 2.0 seconds. Forced gag reflex.]
Rian's whole body seized. Talo's ears pinned flat, one hand flying to his muzzle. Lyn dropped to one knee, staff clattering out of her grip as she clamped both hands over her mouth. Joss gagged so hard he actually vomited, beard swinging as sick splattered the dirt.
All four of them dropped to at least one knee, bodies convulsing as the Overload stun tore through them.
Tikka was already moving.
[SKILL: NIMBLE FEET – ACTIVE]
User: Tikka of Thrash
Effect: Movement speed increased, footfall noise reduced.
Her feet blurred.
Tikka streaked across the muddy ground, boots skidding but never quite losing purchase, sprinting uphill along the outer line of the triangle. One of Joss's eyes tracked her for half a heartbeat, hand fumbling for his bow, but his fingers twitched uselessly.
His body had other priorities.
Tikka shot past Rin in a blur of damp hair and wide eyes, then dropped into a slide behind him, pressing her back to his calves, chest heaving, laughter and gagging tangled together.
"They came," Tikka wheezed. "Done." She chuckled weakly.
Rin glanced down at her HUD icon.
"She waited, baited, then popped Nimble like a player would," Rin thought, a little stunned but happy to see her execute it.
The mana around Rin peaked, green aura oozing from his core and finally visible even through the mist.
Down in the triangle, four stunned heads jerked up as best they could. Lyn's eyes went wide, tearing. Joss squinted through the burning in his sinuses, pupils locked on Rin's glowing outline upslope. Rian tried to lift his shield an inch, arm shaking. Talo's gaze dropped to the ground around them, where the runes were starting to burn.
A triangle of light, forged by runes, was now oozing underneath them. Bone-white motes erupted from the ground in a ring around the New Covenant party, lifting into the air and spinning in a slow orbit.
Spirit pressure howled up from the runes anchored in the dirt, into Rin's chest, then down his arm. Green mana surged with it, burning through his veins like liquid static. His whole body felt like a loaded spring.
"Shiv," Rin thought, chest burning. "Watch this."
[COMBO DETECTED]
Anchor zone infused with toxic miasma.
[ANCIENT BONEFLAME BARRAGE – POWER INCREASED]
Damage multiplied. Radius increased.
Rin snapped his fingers.
"Fuck off," Rin breathed.
[ANCIENT BONEFLAME BARRAGE – IGNITED]
The triangle went white hot in his vision.
The earth inside did not just blow up, it erupted.
Bone pillars ripped upward in a widening ring, pale spines wrapped in ghost fire. They tore through ground and air together, punching up between Rian's boots, in front of Lyn's knees, under Joss's planted hand, right beneath Talo's center of mass. The shockwave slammed into them from below.
The campfire pit, still damp but soaked in gas and ghost flame, exploded as the elements combined. Green white fire roared up, wrapping the bone spines, lighting the hollow like a nightmare sunrise.
The blast thumped through Rin's chest, through his palms braced in mud.
Heat slapped his face. The smell hit right after, scorched cloth, cooked meat, chemical tang and sour puke all rolled into one.
Three HP bars tanked instantly.
[PLAYER KILL]
You have slain [Spellweaver_Lyn – Elf Spellforger – Lvl 6].
[PLAYER KILL]
You have slain [Joss – Dwarf Windrider – Lvl 6].
[PLAYER KILL]
You have slain [Rian – Human Ironbreaker – Lvl 6].
[AUDIO: "Triple kill!"]
Lyn's long fingers never finished their next gesture. Her body blurred into light where she knelt. Her staff hit the dirt a half second before she vanished. Joss pitched forward onto both hands, beard singed and dripping, then exploded into a respawn beam. Rian's shield shattered at the lower edge, NC emblem bubbling and cracking before his whole outline burst into pale light.
Talo took the full force too.
[HP: 0 / 560]
[RACIAL ART: INNER AEGIS – TRIGGERED]
Fatal damage prevented. HP stabilized at low.
His fur stood on end. The aura of the Beastfolk shield flashed once around his torso, then shattered like glass. Talo crashed to one knee at the far edge of the triangle, smoking, gasping, eyes wide and wild.
[HP: 28 / 560]
"So that is the Beastfolk revive I only ever saw on streams," Rin thought, pulse still hammering.
Drosh moved.
Drosh stepped out of the fog from behind Rin's left shoulder, then down into the hollow like he had been carved from it. The air around Drosh held that sharp metallic taste that reminded Rin of storm warnings around broadcast towers.
Drosh did not say the name of the art. He just breathed once and moved.
First step, blade snapping in a flat horizontal line across Talo's lifted shield edge, riding the broken metal into his exposed ribs. Sparks and blood sprayed together.
Second step, weight shift, diagonal cut from hip to opposite shoulder, purple LP shop chestplate biting and giving, rare armor doing absolutely nothing against being in the wrong place.
Third step, upward thrust under the ribs, the sword punching clean in and lifting the Beastfolk half off his feet before ripping back out.
[PHYSICAL ART: SILENT THREE FANG]
Talo's HP hit zero.
[PLAYER KILL]
You have slain [Talo – Beastfolk Warden – Lvl 6]
[AUDIO: "Team kill!"]
[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT – REGION: LUNAREST BORDER]
Enemy party eliminated.New Covenant strike party (Leader: Rian) has been slain by [Kaiseki].
Death location recorded: Northern Lunarest Outskirts, border road hollow.
The last beam of pale light shot up from the wrecked camp, streaking skyward toward respawn shrine and seven day lock.
Red warnings pulsed at the edge of Rin's vision.
[KARMA WARNING]
You have killed players outside sanctioned PvP modes.
Alignment: Neutral → Blood Tinted.
Nameplate: White → Red.
The glow above Rin's health bar darkened, white bleeding into solid red. Seeing it there made his own name feel heavier, like it had weight in the air now.
END OF CHAPTER 11 PART 2
Chapter 12: Chasing the Shadows Part VI
"When you spend long enough chasing shadows, don't be shocked when one of them learns how to bite back."