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Grand Game 571: Another Surprise
🕑 Added 2025-01-23 16:39:25 +0000 UTCDay 8 of Michael’s Deadline
I didn’t think I would manage to get any sleep, but much to my amazement, I woke up feeling surprisingly rested and reinvigorated the next morning.
What time is it? I wondered, sitting up amongst the blankets forming my bed. Did Saf let me oversleep?
But before I could discover the answer to that, a distant shout drew my attention. A second followed it in its wake, then a third.
“Ghost, what in hells is that racket?” I muttered. I was not in the main cave myself and could not immediately tell what was going on.
She ignored the question. “Sleep well?” she asked, amusement tracing her voice.
“Excellently,” I snapped. “Now, what is going on? And what time is it?”
“It’s still early,” she replied unrepentantly. “Most of the company is still abed. And that noise is the sound of Keros’ challenge. Teresa has arrived with someone in tow.”
“Someone? With Terence, you mean?”
“No, it’s….”
“Ghost?” I prompted.
“It’s Regus,” she said, her mindvoice full of astonishment.
My mouth dropped open.
The Reachers had come.
Heedless of what further chaos my abrupt arrival might sow, I flung open my mindsight and shadow jumped directly to Teresa.
✵ ✵ ✵
You have teleported 183 yards.
I stepped out of the aether and into a brewing fight, or at least I hoped it was only brewing.
Teresa was beside me, her face heated and her blades out. In front of me was the source of her ire: Regus and Keros. The ten-foot wolfman loomed over the windknight, the fingers of his clawed hands opening and closing as if he was only barely stopping himself from ripping out the smaller man’s throat.
But despite the disparity in size, it was Regus who was at a disadvantage. Keros had his poleaxe pressed against the side of the wolfman’s throat, and from the line of red dripping down the grizzled human’s blade, he had already drawn blood.
Regus noticed me first.
“Michael!” he growled. “Thank the ancients you’re here!”
Theresa spun to face me. “I was just about to call you,” she bit off quickly. “There’s news. The—”
She broke off as Regus snarled.
The big wolfman had tried to shift out from under the poleaxe, but Keros was having none of that, and now there was no mistaking the blood pouring down the weapon. Regus’s eyes glowed ominously, murder in his gaze.
“Stop!” I barked.
The tableau froze.
I pointed a finger at Keros. “You. Back.”
The windknight arched an eyebrow, his face smooth and unruffled as he glanced at me, and for a moment, I thought he would refuse the order.
But somewhat to my surprise, Keros complied, stepping back smoothly and retracting his blade. Dismissing the windknight from further consideration, I turned to Regus, who was tentatively feeling at the wound on his neck. It was already closing.
“Where are Ceruvax and Farren?” I demanded, getting straight to the point.
“Back in the Marches," the wolfman replied.
I exhaled in sharp relief. Then things had not gone as badly as I feared. “What kept you? We were expecting you days ago!”
Regus shrugged apologetically. “Your man—Zekiel?—had some trouble getting to us, and then there were a few unexpected delays getting the doors to the final chamber unsealed.”
I sighed. I dearly wanted to know the specifics, but I realized, too, they were unimportant right now. “Why are Farren and Ceruvax still in the Marches?”
“Because they’re waiting with the men.” Regus jerked a thumb in Teresa’s direction. “And because this one thought it would be a bad idea for all two thousand five hundred of us to suddenly appear in your base.” His gaze sidled to the impassively observing windknight. “And now I understand why she felt that way.”
I frowned. “All of them are just sitting around waiting in the Marches?”
“Not all,” Teresa answered quickly. “I came as soon as I could. So far, only the Reachers’ vanguard has emerged from the dungeon.”
Regus nodded in confirmation. “But the others are hot on their heels.”
That was not good. The longer our people sat around in the Marches, the greater were the chances someone would notice their sudden arrival from nowhere.
Worse yet, we were not prepared to receive them.
We’d altered our plans to accommodate our significantly smaller force—which was why the rest of the company was still abed. The battle was only scheduled to begin this afternoon, and with only five hundred odd wolves and humans to pre-position, I’d convinced Safyre it wouldn’t make sense to start ferrying our people to the river before noon.
Now, though, we have a force six times larger to contend with.
And for all the undoubted benefits that brought, it was going to be a logistical nightmare getting them all geared up and in position in time, especially this late in the game. Not to mention the changes we would have to make anew to the plan.
I groaned. Safyre is going to kill me.
✵ ✵ ✵
The next two hours were chaotic.
But it was controlled chaos, and the stress—such as it was—was buoyed by the knowledge that the chances of us triumphing today had improved dramatically.
Every nagian and forsworn caster who could open a portal was pressed into action weaving gateways, and those who couldn’t were either made to stand guard or cast concealment shields—because, of course, we had to do our best to hide what was happening in the Marches from its owners. The wolves were also set to work fetching weapons, armor, crystals, and potions from the stores that we had thought would go unused.
“So, this is your base,” Farren observed. “It’s… cozy.”
Adriel laughed. “It’s only temporary, brother.”
I smiled. The siblings’ reunion had been heartfelt and touching to watch. The two lichs, Ceruvax, Regus, Algar, and I were standing at the mouth of the west tunnels, watching the last of the Bane Wolves settle into place.
“But… did it really have to be another cave?” Regus lamented, with only the faintest hint of a whine to his voice.
Adriel arched one eyebrow. “Would you have preferred camping out in the nether above?”
Regus grunted. “Well, when you put it that way…”
Farren laughed.
“I prefer it here,” Algar said softly, his voice going almost unnoticed beneath the laughter.
My gaze slid in the high captain’s direction. He’d been unusually quiet since arriving. One thing that none of us had considered was the effect that leaving the Reach would have on the Bane Wolves.
The Marches’ open skies had shocked most of them near-senseless.
It was the first time the former New Haveners had been out of the Reach, the first time they had found themselves in such an extravagant open stretch of space, and most were still recovering—or at least, I hoped they were. In hindsight, it was a good thing we had established our base in a cave.
“Will the men manage the battle?” I asked quietly.
“The will,” Algar replied. “The mists are familiar.” Almost unwillingly, his gaze stole upward to the solid stone roof. “As long as they cannot see the…. sky, the men will be fine.”
I nodded, accepting his judgement on the matter.
Ceruvax’s gaze found me. It was not the first time I’d felt the weight of his stare. “We have not yet talked,” the envoy said.
I knew he had questions—lots of questions. There had not been time to brief the Reachers fully yet, and what information we’d managed to impart was full of holes.
“I know, but further discussions will have to wait until after the battle. There will be plenty of time then,” I assured him. “Right now, I have to leave.”
Ceruvax’s eyes narrowed. “Where are you going?”
“To meet our allies, the brotherhood.” The force the huntmistress had agreed to commit to the battle—two thousand players—was smaller than our own but not by much. And it was nearly time to begin deploying them in sector 30,199.
Turning about, I surveyed the faces of the Reachers. There was a reason I’d summoned them here, and it was not simply to reminisce. “You will likely not see me again before the battle.”
That got all their attention.
“Safyre and Adriel will share as many of the details as possible in the intervening time, including—” my gaze skipped to Algar—“the Bane Wolves’ part and—” I picked out Regus—“what role the Reach Pack will play. But I want to make one thing clear: Safyre is in charge. I trust her completely. You will follow her orders to the letter. No exceptions.”
I paused to let that sink in. “Understood?” I asked, my eyes resting on the two elites in particular.
Ceruvax inclined his head stiffly. “Understood.”
Farren acquiesced more easily. “If Adriel has faith in this Safyre of yours, then of course, so will I.”
“I will keep them in line, Michael,” Adriel promised with a small smile.
I nodded. It was not that I distrusted any of the Reachers or thought them less capable than Safyre, but circumstances had conspired to leave them in the dark, whereas Safyre knew every intimate detail of the plan. Even Adriel was less caught up than she was.
And just like Algar had told me long ago, every army needed a leader. In battle, there should be no confusion about who was in charge.
And today that could not be me.
I expected to be in the thick of things for much of the forthcoming battle. Not only was the risk of me falling greater, but as preoccupied as I was going to be with my own fights, it was likely I would lose sight of the bigger picture.
That would be Safyre’s responsibility.
She would be the one directing the flow of the battle. She would be the one making sure things did not go awry. And that was why I’d made certain to drive the point home with Ceruvax and Farren. I didn’t need the pair trying to contradict her mid-battle.
“Good. Now that that’s settled, there are just two more things to do.” Stepping forward, I laid my hand on Ceruvax’s arm.
Commander ability triggered.
Do you wish to pass on the blood puppet memory to your follower, Ceruvax?
“What’s this?” the envoy asked.
I smiled. “A gift,” I said, willing the Adjudicator to proceed.
Analyzing player…
…
…
Analysis complete.
Ceruvax is an awakened Wolf, and you may bequeath him with a less powerful variant of the blood memory. Do you wish to proceed?
Once more, I conveyed my answer to the Game and waited.
Ceruvax has been awarded the ability: enslave (lesser). As a weaker variant of blood puppet, this blood memory will allow your follower to permanently enslave a single non-player subject whose level is equal to or lower than his own.
Ceruvax’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. “A greater blood memory! This is from your awakening in the Combat Circle?”
“It is. Now, it’s your turn.”
He looked at me curiously. “My turn?”
I nodded. “I need your strongest spell.” My gaze drifted to the lichs. “Yours, too, Farren, Adriel.”
✵ ✵ ✵
You have acquired the spell, oblivion (stolen) from Farren. Oblivion (stolen) is a tier 6 death spell that destroys any living thing it encounters within a radius of 100 yards. Few can resist its touch, and for those that don’t, death is instantaneous. Targets struck by the spell will disintegrate.
You have acquired the spell, noxious vapors (stolen) from Adriel. Noxious vapors (stolen) is a tier 6 channeled spell that decays the flesh of all living entities to feel its touch. The health of every target subjected to the spell will decay at a rate of 10% per second for 5 seconds.
Note, each subsequent touch from the vapors will increase the duration of the spell’s debuff.
You have acquired the spell, seeping shadows (stolen) from Ceruvax. Seeping shadows (stolen) is a tier 6 buff lasting 1 minute. It modifies all your attacks, causing them to deal pure shadow damage. In addition, foes struck by a seeping shadow blow will suffer a +5% shadow affliction for 10 seconds. Successive seeping shadow blows will increase the affliction.
Note, as a target’s shadow affliction increases, their innate shadow resistance and damage reduction will decrease, causing them to suffer more damage from successive shadow attacks.
It was unfortunate that I could not use void thief to steal blood memories yet, because of all the trio’s spells, those were the most powerful. Still, the three spells I got from Ceruvax, Farren, and Adriel were tier six instances, and were powerful enough in their own right.
“Thank you,” I murmured. “I have a feeling these are going to come in handy soon.”
The trio smiled.
I glanced at Adriel. “Final thing: the two nagas I enslaved, do you know where they are?”
She nodded. “They haven’t moved since being freed. They are still at the entrance to Draven’s Reach.”
“Nagas?” Farren asked, an inquisitive cast to his face. “Those sound interesting.”
“I guess you could call them that,” I murmured, before addressing Adriel again. “Take Ceruvax to the creatures. He should be able to dominate one.” I paused. “On second thought, take Farren, Regus, and Algar with you as well. It will be good for them to see some of what we’ll be facing before the main battle.”
The lich inclined her head. “I’ll do that.”
I clasped hands with each of the Reachers in turn. “I guess this is goodbye—for the time being, anyway.”
Turning around, I hurried off to find Safyre.
There was time for one final goodbye before my rendezvous with the brotherhood.
Comments
TimeDrawsNigh
> “The will,” Algar replied. === Typo: They will
TimeDrawsNigh
Tom Elliot (Rohan Vider)
i admit the wording makes it a bit ambigous, but in essence what others have said is correct. Resisting a spell also cost mana, and will cause the void armor to decrease (allowing spell capture). Note, too, that even though some spells are described as insta-kill or the like, the can still resisted or partially resisted.
obiwann
Hard to dispute your logic
CipherFTW
HERE! WE! GOOOOOOOOOO!!
Justin saldana
It's possible but the chests the dungeon are pretty random already, maybe they might get more class gems with better classes. I feel like Michael next rewards will be boosted for completed tasks. Getting a tenets is nice but I'm sure he wants a class upgrade or another class points
David Brewer
He wasn't really lost, just badly wounded. And besides technically Kolath wasn't reclaimed. He actually died, and was replaced. Also, it fits better that claiming the sector is the "lost reclaimed". Why? Draven WILL be lost if this sector is lost. But even if maybe he can sneak into a different dungeon this still reclaims the lost dungeon of Draven's Reach. Claim a "lost" sector, lost dungeon, even sorta a lost guardian.
David Brewer
Don't think Kartara can become a powerful initiate. We've seen no reason to assume she EVER swore herself to a power, and likely she wasn't sworn at 250. Thus, she should be a powerful Initiate already because she's >250 and unsworn. That is the only reason for the Brotherhood to not have claimed their home sector too... they don't have a Power (or "trust" like BHG) to create a faction for them to permit claimed sectors. As Michael noted when he analyzed her she probably lacks the ability to evolve, akin to Ceruvax.
David Brewer
Pretty sure void armor doesn't actually work purely by using mana to reduce the damage received but it probably also spends mana anytime a spell is resisted. I mean it does grant both effects, i.e. damage reduction and damage resistance. It stands to reason it isn't free to resist a spell. And this is supported by Michael's concern that he can't actually ignore nether spells. Despite having 100% damage reduction it still costs him mana. Which based purely on "damage done" it wouldn't... because it does 0 damage. Or technically negative damage. Thus, the Adjudicator determines the mana cost of void armor in a fashion other than damage dealt. And while it is different because one does damage and is negated, and the other just creates an effect the concept is similar.
David Brewer
We don't actually know if the Primes never reclaimed a sector. It's not unreasonable to assume they haven't given the "source" of some of the Brotherhood's knowledge of stygians is fairly transparently from before the rebellion. But, I do agree it's quite likely we won't see the true results of reclaiming the sector until early in the next book. We might see Michael gain powerful Acolyte... they are fighting 3 (4 counting the nearby Harbinger) stygian Powers so that mark upgrade is possible. But if they get any direct rewards for reclaiming the sector or from building a "safe" home for the Forerunners that's nearly certain to be delayed.
TheRaptorOfHermes
Nooo dont jinx it! Although i had the same feeling that the climax or resolution of the fight will be in the next book.
Alejandro
🫶
obiwann
And unique access to a guardian … that’s absolutely huge too. Concur the battlefield has shifted and not even 1/2 the pieces are on the board yet. I wonder if the guardian can influence the dungeon loot at all?
Justin saldana
They got there own personal dungeon for the forerunners as a reward for fixing a guardian. That is a huge reward that's gonna help the everyone grow stronger. Now defeating a couple powers and take over a sector. The rewards will be crazy. Can't wait 🔥🔥
Tesset
Adriel most likely boosted his death resistance to 100% just like she did before the fight with Losken. And a single use or a couple would be enough for his void armour to resist it once, which would have probably “damaged” the armour enough and thus stealing the spell.
obiwann
Me toooooo! I wanna see him be prime at a stupid low level lol like at 400
Marco Ramon
That would also work if they kill the Harbinger instead. For obvious reasons, I’d much rather see Michael take down the void tree. Not least because it would give him a cool upgrade for his power mark.
Tesset
I actually think that because of Micheal’s shenanigans, more of the harbingers are going to pop up sooner than everyone thinks
obiwann
Random new thought/theory for the day…. The brotherhood side of the rift is severely depleted due to Michael’s growth shenanigans. The brotherhood doesn’t have much of a job to do… then a severely damaged void tree tries to flee and hunt mistress kills it.. becoming a power initiate herself and becomes the next power to join the forerunners
Mike
I don’t know
Leasure
I had the same thought, it stuck out to me while reading. I may be mistaken on the way void armor works
Eriach
TFTC
Blakuis Woolf
Anyone else waiting for the giant cliff hanger that says we don't get to actually see the fight till the next book??
obiwann
Agree… NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE…. YUGE!!!! Instant prime? Lmao JK
obiwann
Guardian was reclaimed
Tesset
No i think the reward he forfeited was the one he was suppose to get for restoring the guardian. There should be a massive reward for reclaiming the sector. Especially if no one has done it since the time of the Primes, if no know has done it… ever. Then the reward would be stupidly massive.
Tesset
that’s a good point, nothing would really be reclaimed and the title would make as much sense
Mike
The reward will be what the new guardian is doing to keep the dungeon for the forerunners only. Unless I misunderstood the last chapter
Tesset
I have the same feeling about the ending…
Mike
Me too but then the title doesn’t make sense because nothing was reclaimed…
Marco Ramon
This 😭
Tesset
Tftc! Awesome! Everyone is here, can’t wait to see how Ceruvax interacts with the arctic and dire wolfs and Nyra. And his reaction to Micheal having elder form :D my guess is that the book will end just as the battle is about to begin. Already can’t wait for the next one…
obiwann
No way we see any rewards until next book 😔😩😭
obiwann
Sheit… with the amount of chapters we getting … I am 100% expecting a chapter something like. “we stared at the portal, knowing that what came next was a battle to free a sector from the clutches of the void… securing a future for the forerunners and house wolf. With a shrug I stepped into the portal , ready for war” ……….. This ends book 8. See what happens next in the grand game “random title” coming in August 2025
Sailesh Kumar Kumar
TFTC
Alexander C Hyde
You have acquired the spell, oblivion (stolen) from Farren. Oblivion (stolen) is a tier 6 death spell that destroys any living thing it encounters within a radius of 100 yards. Few can resist its touch, and for those that don’t, death is instantaneous. Targets struck by the spell will disintegrate. How did he acquire this spell? Is does no damage to void armor. It just does instant death if it works.
Joshua Adams
Can’t wait for this battle. It’s been a good build up. I hope he gets some good rewards and levels his power mark. *They will
Joshua Wiebelhaus
The calm before the storm
Suraj Rodrigo
Tftc
