Project Dawnfall

— CHAPTER FOUR —

A Moonless Knight

☤Flora☤

Black and red and blue and green flames crackled and roared, spewing embers across the darkened sky. The Black Knight was a writhing mass of shadow lurking in lightless tree line, straining to break through into the city proper.

Opposing him, Prince Nicolaus stood firm in the muddy street. He was dwarfed by the Knight's size, but the rainbow of flames around him flowed at his command, lapping at the darkness like an ocean in a storm.

Between the two, a shadow flickered - Spymaster Alephred, barely visible as he darted around the Knight, stilling just long enough to fling a shining blade at its joints. But for all his efforts, each one bounced off harmlessly.

"You're getting rusty, old man!" the Prince called out.

Alpehred materialized for just a moment. "It'd be easier if you held the blasted thing still, whelp!"

He disappeared again, the Knight's greatsword crashing down where he had been standing a moment earlier. The ground cracked and splintered under the impact, opening a fissure that spewed forth oily black flames.

The cursed fire raced in a line down the street, not more than a few feet to the side of where Erik and I stood. The air ran cold around it, fogging my breath.

"I don't think we should be here." I said. "We can't do this - look at that thing! It's tearing the city apart!"

But Erik only grew more eager. "That's the point! Where would we, as humans, be if we said, 'the moon is too far' or 'this ocean is too wide'?! When we see a challenge, we overcome it! Maybe it takes years, maybe it takes failures, but we solve it!" He thrust his axe into the air. "You can't keep a man down! Taste my steel, Knight! Ahh!"

Erik charged forward, jumping into a leaping smash toward the inferno. Sparks flew as his axe crashed against the Knight's leg. It didn't leave a dent that I could see. Undeterred, he spun into another strike at the back of its knee. Again, the axe clanged off the jet black armor.

"See?" I yelled, "We have to get stronger - we're gnats to it at this stage!"

"Well this gnat's carrying malaria!" He crouched low, charging another leap, then launched. Ten feet into the air he soared, axe raised high and aimed straight for the Knight's visor. The blade pierced through the metal grating, and for a fraction of a second, it looked like he'd landed a hit. Then those dark flames exploded out of the gap.

Erik's body rocketed backward like a meteor, leaving a trail of smoke as he tumbled down the street and skidded to a stop at my feet. The fur of his armor was singed black, wisps of acrid smoke rising from it. His health was down to a sliver. I made some hand gestures, queueing a healing spell and casting it on him.

I hoped that would be enough to discourage him, but he sprang up, grinning ear to ear. "Did you see that?!"

"Yes, it looked like it hurt!"

"It reacted! I tried to hit its eyes, and it showed fear!" He wiped the rain off his face and pointed his axe at the Knight. "You've played your hand, Knight! Your weakness has been exposed!"

Erik pulled up his menu and opened his class tree. With a few taps, his armor shimmered and reformed. The fur melted away and the leather expanded to cover his whole body. His axe vanished, replaced by a bow. Looking at the new outfit, he said, "No delay or anything, sweet! I'm gonna keep that open." He moved the menu panel to the side, leaving it floating beside him as he walked back toward the fray.

He drew the string back to his ear. "Now it begins!" He loosed the arrow at those round yellow dots. For a moment, it looked true, then a flash of colorful fire incinerated the arrow far before it could reach its mark. Erik rounded on Prince Nicolaus. "Come on, man!"

The Prince paid him no heed, his attention fixed on the Knight. "Foul beast!" he cried, brandishing his sword. "I know not what hell my father dragged you up from, but I shall return you with express delivery!"

He slashed his blade through the air, and a pillar of green fire shot toward the Knight. The monstrosity extended its arm, dark flames gathering around its hand to catch and deflect the assault.

Erik picked up a bucket lying on the side of the road and ran at Nicolaus, then dunked it over the Prince's head. He... didn't seem to notice - Nicolaus continued to wave his sword around. What it did do was interfere with his ability to cast spells. The flames died down, letting a chill run through the air.

"There we go!" Erik shouted. He drew another arrow and let it fly, straight and true. This time, it found its target, striking the Knight in the eye. The behemoth flinched - a tiny motion, but unmistakably a success.

Then, slowly, it turned its horned helm to regard Erik standing before it.

He stood firm, tapping a button on the UI panel floating beside him. His armor shifted again, taking on the heavier chain of a swordfighter. The bow in his hand shortened and straightened into a blade. "Now it's a fight."

The Knight advanced, a wave running through the mud with each footfall. It raised its greatsword high, the flames along its length pluming. With an earth-shattering crash, it brought the weapon down, black flames exploding from the point of impact. The inferno roared toward Erik, devouring all in its path.

But Erik was already moving. He jumped aside and ran in close to its body, then jammed his sword under the kneecap of the Knight's greave. Using the hilt as a foothold, he clambered up its side, and found purchase on the thing's broad shoulders.

As the Knight pulled its blade from the ground, Erik grabbed one of the helm's horns. With a roar of effort, he heaved, twisting the helmet not all the way around, but a good quarter turn. Except - maybe it would be more accurate to say he turned the Knight's head on its neck, because those eyes remained fixed in the visor. The head continued to rotate, slowly, inexorably, until it was staring over its own shoulder - straight at Erik.

"I should have known you'd be more clever than that." Erik panted.

The Knight's gauntlet rose, wreathed in hissing flames as it reached toward Erik. He quickly hit his UI, changing class to Lancer, and leaped clear before the hand could close around him. Drawing his spear in the air, he thrust downward, using it as a pole to guide his fall onto the nearest rooftop - a little thatch cottage that was still only chest height to the Knight.

The head remained fixed as the body turned to follow, righting the orientation of its neck. It extended its flaming hand, and a fusillade of black-purple fireballs burst forth, buzzing toward Erik like angry hornets.

Not missing a beat, Erik changed class again, returning to Berserker and leaping. The fireballs exploded behind him as he bounded across the rooftops. And again - a swap back to Archer!

"Twinshot!" Two shafts leapt from his bow. One glanced off the Knight's helm - but the other found the dark slit of its visor, vanishing into the abyss.

It was undeniably an impressive showing, but it's health was still floating at 99.99%.

"This isn't working!" I called out. "There isn't enough time to fight it like this! We have to meet back up with the others!"

"You're right..." Erik said. "I need something more decisive! Cutting the heads off the soldiers killed them instantly, so let's see what's under there!"

With a tap on his interface, Erik swapped class once more, the Berserker's fur-trimmed armor settling on him. He readied to leap as the Knight launched another barrage of fireballs.

Erik leapt, arcing over the swarm of flames, his trajectory carrying him straight toward the Knight's helmet. He dropped the axe just before impact, seizing on one of those spikes and, with a grunt of effort, heaved upward.

And it worked. The helmet slid upward, exposing a sliver of softer leather around its neck. Erik let out a cry, spawning his axe once again and swung. But before he could make contact ... something erupted from the gap. It could have been those black flames, but at the same time it looked too... solid. Like an actual substance. Nevertheless, it swatted Erik back, hurling him through the air to crash at the edge of the tree line.

"Erik!" I tried to run, but the Knight was between us, and its range was much better than mine. It turned, swinging its greatsword down on him while he was still prone. He burst apart, instantly exploding into dust.

Then it all stopped.

The Knight straightened, going utterly still. Nicolaus was still flailing about with the bucket on his head, while across the way, I could see Alephred crouched on a box, scanning for the Knight but unable to see it was now behind him.

I fumbled for my menu to submit a bug report, then it began to move once more. The Knight turned, slowly, to face the city.

To face me.

It began to advance, its sword trailing black flames.

"EEE!"

{Lucy}

"Woo, yeah! Suck my dick, Imperial chodes!" Excalibur shouted gleefully as she ran rampant through the ranks of the King's men. I watched as the young girl stabbed soldiers in the back of the leg, shoving them down into the mud before slitting their throats with savage efficiency. But she was only cleaning up the ones that Rose missed. The older woman moved through the enemy lines like a scythe through wheat, her blade flashing in the firelight as she ducked, weaved, and slid around the foot soldier's clumsy attacks.

Following the pair from an adjoining rooftop, I called out, "Do you fence, Rose?"

"No, I've never been a fan of 'rules-based' sports." she replied, sweeping the legs out from under a man, then crushing his windpipe. "All I have is a lifetime of LARPing! And I suppose the dance lessons I took when I was younger help, but I haven't been able to move this easily in ages!" There was a fierce joy in her voice, a sense of liberation from the limitations of the flesh. I could sympathize; there was a freshness to the air - even in the pouring rain, I felt... unhindered.

The sharp clomp of boots on cobblestones drew my attention to the next street over. A squad of the King's soldiers were running past, oblivious to the carnage on the other side of the buildings. I drew my bowstring, nocking an arrow, and released in one smooth motion. The arrow found its mark, piercing straight through the lead soldier's head and sending him tumbling to the ground in a spray of glowing blue motes.

"Seven more, north side!" I shouted in warning as the rest of the squad veered toward the alley that would lead them to Rose's street.

I hopped across to the next rooftop. Below, Excalibur crouched in wait at the mouth of the alley. As the first soldier rounded the corner, she pounced like a jungle cat, bearing him to the ground. Rose stepped in a moment later, churning through the rest while they were stuck in the confines of the alley.

As the last one fell, I asked, "What do you think our progress is at now?"

"It should be about time to check in." Rose said. "Shall we?"

I nodded, taking a moment to savor the cool rain on my face before stepping toward the edge to join them. Then something further up the road caught my eye - two of those eerie knights lumbering in our direction. The shine of their armor was a dead giveaway.

"Hold on. Knights - up ahead!"

I nocked an arrow and let it fly at a stack of barrels conveniently perched on the edge of the roof across from me. It struck true, sending the barrels tumbling down onto the knights in a cascade of splintered wood and tar. The knights went down hard, struggling to rise as the tar seeped in.

"Nice shot!" Rose called up. She and Excalibur wasted no time in rushing over to finish off our friends.

As they worked, I slowly walked along the rooftops, my mind drifting. As little as I expected to be able to play this game, for a moment, it felt like I was a different person in an entirely separate world from reality. And it felt good - no worries, no pressure, no expectations weighing me down.

I was broken from my thoughts by a woman's scream shattering the post-battle silence.

Flora came tearing down the street toward Rose and Excalibur. "Knight!" she shrieked. "Black Knight - right behind me! Run!"

They decidedly did not run. Both women planted themselves firmly between Flora and the direction she had come from, weapons at the ready as the distraught woman cowered behind them. But as I scanned the surrounding streets, I saw no sign of pursuit. No menacing black-armored figure looming out of the rain.

"I think you lost him!" I called down.

Flora slumped with relief. "Oh, thank God, I-"

A thunderous crash ripped through the air, cutting her off mid-sentence. It sounded like an entire block of houses had just been smashed by a wrecking ball. A plume of unnatural black flames billowed into the sky a few streets over, accompanied by the terrified scream of a young boy.

"Was that the Captain?!" Flora gasped, her already pale face draining of the last of its color.

"Southeast - three blocks!" Without hesitation, I leapt down from the roof, hitting the ground in a sprint. Rose, Excalibur, and Flora were right on my heels as we raced through the rain-soaked streets.

Barreling around a corner, we nearly collided with the boys fleeing the scene. Captain Galactic clung desperately to the back of Fritz Carlton, an umbrella hat flying off the child's head as they swung out of a side street. The sight might have been cute if not for Fritz's missing arm. Percival hopped awkwardly after them, struggling to yank off a pair of fuzzy bunny slippers.

"It's on the next street over!" Percival shouted, finally managing to stuff the slippers into a pouch on his belt.

All three of them had found rain ponchos that flapped around them as they ran. As they reached us, Fritz set the Captain down, and the boys pulled out umbrellas. We gathered under the shelter, readying our weapons.

The heavy, rhythmic stomping of the Black Knight grew louder, echoing off the buildings. But as we braced for its arrival, the sound began to recede, continuing past our position on another street.

"Where is it going?" Rose asked, relaxing her stance but keeping the sword unsheathed.

"No clue;" Fritz said, "we were just coming out of the clothing store when it broke through an entente checkpoint."

Percival fished a pair of plain boots out of his inventory, dropped them on the ground, and slipped them on.

I blinked. Wait, how had they changed their clothes? "I thought our equipment was locked?" I asked.

"Only in the menu." Percival said. "They don't seem to have locked smart replacement."

Fritz asked, "Is that what you call it when you pick something up?"

Percival nodded. "Yeah, if you hold something or physically put it on, it's equipped automatically."

"Handy!" Fritz nodded, mildly impressed.

"Not the time!" Rose snapped. "I'm going to follow it - come on!" She took off down the street.

As the rest of us hurried after her, Captain Galactic handed out umbrellas.

"Thank you!" Flora gave him a warm smile. "How nice of you to think of us!"

I couldn't hold mine with my bow equipped, so I went weaponless for the moment.

The rain pelted against our umbrellas as we splashed through puddles. Up ahead, the monstrous form of the Black Knight, the tips of the horns on its helmet level with the roofs of the two-story buildings of the inner city, marched through the streets. It smashed through market stalls and trampled barricades without pause. The NPCs didn't seem to notice it, allowing the dark flames dripping off its body to wash over and consume them.

"Is it supposed to be doing this?" Rose asked.

Flora said, "I think... I think Erik bugged it out."

"Launch day, baby!" Fritz laughed from behind me.

Rose squinted and looked back at our group. "Where is Erik anyway?"

"Oh, he died!" Flora said cheerfully.

Not surprising - nothing could have stood in that thing's way.

"It looks like it's heading for the center of town." Rose observed. "If it gets there, do we lose?"

Fritz looked at Percival, but the redhead shrugged, "I don't have a clue - I thought the timer was there to make it impossible to lose."

As we continued to follow it, something up ahead caught my eye - a pile of fur lying unmoving in the rain. I squinted, trying to make out the details. "What is that?" I pointed. "Is that Erik there?"

It was - as we ran closer, we came close enough to see his nameplate.

"Erik! You ok?" Fritz shouted.

Flora cupped her hands around her mouth. "Don't let one little death get you down! Where's that indomitable human spirit?!"

But Erik didn't respond. He just lay there like a discarded ragdoll, the rain pattering against his still form. Right in the path of the Knight.

"Oh for Pete's sake." Fritz sprinted forward, ducking and hugging the wall as he passed the Knight to reach Erik. He tried to drag him to his feet, but, with one arm, he was having a hard time. Rose quickly joined him, and together they managed to hoist Erik up onto Fritz's back. Fritz staggered slightly under the weight, but he was still hobbling along faster than the Knight's lumbering walk.

Rose shouted, "Come on! let's get to the center before it!"