A New Eternity Book 1: Spawn Point
Four against one seems like pretty rough odds, however if you are a master trickster then it should be no problem
I crouched and expertly positioned the final tripwire at the entrance to the narrow alley. After double-checking that the line was anchored into the crumbling building opposite, I placed a drop of oil on my thumb and forefinger and gently rubbed it along the wire.
I stepped back, briefly admiring my handiwork. The oil made the tripwire shine in the noonday sunlight, which was the point. None of the satchels I’d placed were visible from this angle, and anyone who spotted the wire would be sure to avoid entering the alley. Unless, of course, my opponents didn’t spot it. In that case, I’d have to spring the trap early and fall back on another plan.
With the decoy trap set, I scanned my surroundings, reviewing the soon-to-be battlefield. The remains of a small village spread out around me, its crumbling stone structures overtaken by creeping ivy and the relentless march of time. Rooftops had caved in, windows shattered, and broken beams stuck through walls at odd angles like fractured bones. The main cobblestone street, now invaded by patches of moss and grass, meandered between village buildings and into the forest surrounding it.
Satisfied with my setup, I turned and ducked into the large, multi-story building behind me. I climbed up the rope dangling through a hole in the ceiling and settled into my preplanned hiding spot.
Everything was in place. Nothing to do now but wait. Wait and wonder what I might have done wrong.
“Come on,” I muttered. “You’ve got this. Are there technically better hiding spots you could have chosen? Yes. Did you have to burn all your abilities to get these traps in place? Yeah. But you know what you’re doing. These kids are brash, and you’ve got good reasons for all your choices.”
But what if I’d made the wrong ones?
I gritted my teeth, activated my Trap Sight, and peered through a ragged hole in the wall. The village itself was unchanged, but now the area was littered with red, orange, and green patches to mark all the traps I’d placed. A snare here, some punji spikes there, and a deep pit hidden under a fragile layer of cobblestones. I’d used my last available trap ability to build that pit. There weren’t nearly enough traps, but my enemies could be here any moment, and I wasn’t willing to push my luck further.
My eyes flicked to the row of ability icons at the top of my field of view. Only one remained ready for use, the image pulsing as it waited for my command. All the rest were grayed out as the cooldown timers ticked down. A glance at my wrist showed my health and mana bars sitting at one hundred percent. That was good. At least I’d finished healing from that panicked encounter at the beginning of the match.
I did my best to keep my breathing slow and steady. One hand squeezed the grip of my sword while the other played with the amulet dangling from my neck. Seconds ticked away as my mind played through countless scenarios.
What if they didn’t come directly from their spawn point? What if they circled around and came from the other direction? They could be sneaking up on me right now. Maybe I should have focused less on the main street and set more of a perimeter. What if…
My thoughts halted as something moved in the distant tree line. At first, I thought I’d imagined it until a figure stepped from the shadows of the trees. They were quickly followed by three more. I watched quietly from my secret nest as my opponents entered the village.
In the lead was a lithe woman with flowing silver hair. Richly dressed in dark blue armor trimmed with silver, she moved with grace and precision. That had to be Seraphina. She always preferred agile dodge-tank classes over anything else, but I had no way of knowing exactly which class the woman had chosen.
Behind her came a large, burly man that could only be Thanor. He wore some kind of hide armor and his long red beard swayed in the wind. A massive boar, standing nearly to the man’s shoulders, walked beside him. The clopping of hooves on stone rang through the desolate streets as they stepped onto the road. Thanor had clearly selected the Beast Master class or some variant for this encounter. It was a smart move, basically turning this into a five-on-one match instead of the planned four-on-one.
That meant the sickly-looking woman trailing behind Thanor must be Halia. She repeatedly wiped one hand on her red and white robes while the other clutched a glowing wand.
So, Halia was a mage of some kind. No surprises there. The girl almost always picked a magic user for her class. She was obviously upset about something. I leaned forward, putting my eye as close to the hole in the wall as I dared. My eyes narrowed as I peered closely at Halia’s outfit. The robes weren’t red and white. They were pure white and splattered with copious amounts of crimson blood.
I grinned. It seemed one of my panicked trap placements in the first few moments of the match had claimed a victim. Must have been Galen. Not the target I would have preferred, but at least I had one less opponent to deal with.
The group moved cautiously through the village, every step bringing them closer to my first layer of traps. Then, Seraphina stopped, halting the others with a brief hand gesture. It was hard to tell at this distance, but she seemed to be inches away from one of the red patches in my vision.
The woman knelt and prodded at the street before her. Then, without warning or fanfare, a wave of silver light pulsed outward from her. It swept over her allies and the surrounding terrain, leaving condensed silver light clinging to every one of my traps in a thirty-foot radius around the woman.
“Fucking Lunar Assassins,” I swore. “That’s going to complicate things.”
Seraphina rose to her feet. Even at this distance, I could see her grinning from ear to ear.
“Nice try, Topha!” Seraphina cried out. “I knew you’d do something like this.”
I swore under my breath as my opponents simply wound their way through the field of silver and into the village proper. I held my breath as they passed the last patch of silver light.
Maybe Seraphina’s ability was on cooldown. If she couldn’t use it for several more minutes…
Another wave of silver light pulsed from Seraphina, highlighting more of my hidden traps.
Well, fuck. So much for that.
Surely Seraphina couldn’t keep spamming the ability forever. However, if she’d anticipated me selecting a Trap Master class, the assassin could have all kinds of tricks to disarm my traps.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are, old lady!” Thanor roared, his voice reverberating through the empty streets. “We don’t have all day to play hide-and-seek with you!”
My jaw tightened, but I held my tongue, my gaze never wavering from my adversaries. He wanted me to give away my position. Not a chance! But what he’d said was true. My gaze flicked across my HUD to the timer counting down in the corner of my vision. Ten minutes left. Only ten minutes to take out all four of them.
Why had I agreed to this? Four versus one was a ridiculous match-up under the best conditions. Seraphina had guessed my strategy and selected a viable counter. If I wanted my plan to have any chance of success, Seraphina had to go first. But how? The Trap Master wasn’t designed for a straight fight.
“Your traps won’t work, Topha,” Thanor called again as the party continued picking their way forward. “You’re done. Let’s get this over with already.”
The boar moved up beside Seraphina, its snout to the ground, sending up plumes of dust with every breath. It was tracking me.
They really had come prepared to deal with my usual tricks. Between Seraphina and the boar, I had little chance of staying hidden or stopping them. The assassin was the biggest problem. As long as she was around, my traps posed little danger to them.
Seraphina had to go.
That wouldn’t be easy. If I wanted to take out the assassin, I needed an edge. She looked like a standard dodge-tank build, designed to duck and weave around her opponents and make the most of superior agility. If I took that agility away, pinned her in place somehow, I might have a chance.
Trailing at the rear, Halia suddenly stumbled as her foot caught on some unseen hazard. The pallid woman swore loudly as she nearly fell on her face. As Thanor walked to his companion and hauled her back to her feet, an idea bloomed in my head.
If Seraphina could spot any trap I placed, I’d have to trick her with something that wasn’t a trap.
As quietly as I could, I pushed away from the wall, lowered my rope, and descended from my ivy-laced sanctuary onto the ground floor. Crumbling stone crunched softly beneath my feet as I gingerly moved around, looking for—
There!
A section of the floor had broken away from the rest, tilting slightly downward. I crawled over and gently lifted the section. The ground beneath had worn away over the years, leaving a shallow depression under one end. I quickly pulled a glass vial from my belt and checked its description.
Item: Tanglefoot Brew
Description: A bewitching concoction known as the Tanglefoot Brew, this tincture is a mischievous blend of magic and alchemy. When shattered, it unleashes a torrent of viscous, adhesive goo that quickly expands in volume, slowing and possibly ensnaring anything caught in its rapidly spreading radius.
Effect: Immobilizes any objects or creatures that come into contact with it. The item or creature can be removed from the brew with a successful strength check of twenty-five or higher.
Without another moment’s delay, I placed the vial in the depression and gently lowered the floor back down. The section rested on top of the glass tube, leaving the floor mostly level. With the hoofbeats of the boar drawing ever closer, I pulled a piece of parchment from my inventory, folded it several times, and set it on the floor slightly past my recent preparations.
I turned toward the door in time to see another pulse of silver light stop just short of one of the building’s shattered windows.
They were practically on top of me. There wasn’t enough time to get back into my hidey-hole. Good thing I had a backup spot in mind.
As quietly as I could, I crawled across the floor and into the remains of a large fireplace, its opening perpendicular to the direction Seraphina was approaching from. I eased inside, careful to keep my weapon from striking the stone, and pulled my knees up to my chest. It was a tight fit, but I should be hidden from most of the room.
“Do you really think she’s in there?” an unfamiliar voice asked. That had to be Halia.
“I’m positive,” Thanor replied. “A lot of people overlook them, but the ironside boar actually has an excellent sense of smell.”
I fought the urge to peek out of my hiding place.
“She must have left the building by now,” Halia protested, speaking louder than necessary with Thanor directly beside her. What was she—
The faintest scuff of leather on stone reached my ears.
They were trying to distract me. Seraphina was already in the room. Halia and Thanor continued chatting back and forth, their voices not drawing any closer. I tuned them out as best I could, listening for anything else.
Without my intense focus, I never would have heard Seraphina whisper, “A note? Really? Cute, Topha. Real cute.”
A chill raced through my limbs. For a second, I feared the assassin had found me. Then came the crunch of broken glass and an inarticulate cry of surprise.
Without missing a beat, I rolled from the fireplace and onto my feet. Seraphina knelt on the floor with a mass of green goo encasing her left hand and her legs from the knee down. The assassin’s head snapped up, meeting my gaze as I drew my shortsword. I lunged forward while triggering Impaling Strike.
The mass from the Tanglefoot Brew gave slightly under my weight but didn’t break as my sword found its mark. I struck Seraphina’s exposed side, the blade biting into her flesh and drawing blood. A red bar appeared over the assassin’s head, two-thirds already gone from the vicious attack.
I withdrew my weapon, ignoring Seraphina’s cry of pain, and struck again. Immobilized as she was, the woman couldn’t even fight back. After a few quick blows, Seraphina’s lifeless body slumped forward, still held upright by the green goo trapping her legs.
One more down, and Seraphina hadn’t revealed my final trap. I could still win this, but I had no time to savor my victory. I spun, blade ready, as Thanor and Halia burst into the ruined building.
Halia’s robe had shifted from white to deep blue with hundreds of white specks drifting across the surface. Before anyone could move, she spoke a word of power, and half a dozen of the specks shot toward me in brilliant arcs.
I managed to dodge several of the projectiles, but there were too many. Three slammed into me and detonated with surprising force, taking over twenty percent of my Health in an instant and sending me stumbling backward.
I tripped over Seraphina’s body and toppled to the floor. The air shook with Thanor’s bellow and the thundering of feet and hooves across the ground.
With no time to do anything else, I grasped the pendant dangling from my neck and triggered its special ability. The pearl embedded in the amulet shattered, and a bubble of force erupted around me before solidifying into a solid shield.
I turned my head in time to see the ironside boar, metallic hide gleaming, slam snout-first into the barrier. My whole world seemed to shake with the impact, but the shield held, eliciting a surprised squeal from the beast. Then, a massive axe slammed against the barrier, followed by another barrage of Halia’s brilliant projectiles.
Now was my only chance.
With a simple thought, I activated the ability icon, still pulsing gently in the corner of my vision, and triggered the explosive satchels I had strategically placed around the building’s exterior. A sequence of thunderous booms reverberated through the area, accompanied by the noise of shattering wood and stone.
I had a brief moment to savor the surprise and terror on Thanor’s and Halia’s faces before the entire three-story stone building collapsed on top of us.
My magical shell held, the shimmering barrier granting a few precious moments of safety amid the chaos. Though none of the debris could touch me, I could practically feel the oppressive weight of the rubble bearing down, threatening to pulverize me. The shield endured the worst of the onslaught, but cracks of energy already skittered across its surface.
I stayed on my back. I barely had enough time to cover my face and throat with my arms before the barrier failed and hundreds of pounds of wood, stone, and plaster crashed on top of me.
My Health meter plummeted another twenty percent as the rubble entombed me, bruising my body and crushing the breath from my lungs. I struggled to inhale, but the weight was too much. My Health continued to tick downward with each passing second. It was nearly at zero when a victorious fanfare resonated through the pandemonium, and a window appeared in the darkness before me.
Match Complete! Topha Bellator Is Victorious!
I smiled as the pain faded and the world dissolved into a kaleidoscope of colors.
A win is a win right? In this case she risked it all to claim the victory. What will she face next? Find out when Spawn Point: A New Eternity Book 1 is released on October 24th. Until then head on over to Amazon and pre-order it today.
