With another cautious glance I darted inside. A large room, with walls sectioning it along one side, stretched out several hundred paces. Boxes and items were stacked up everywhere. A storage area.
I quietly padded down, checking each section in turn. Near the end, I saw the unmistakable curve of an Orb sticking out from behind the next wall.
Not sure what to expect, I slowly walked around the wall with sword in hand.
There was Kragg, sitting in the orb. As I moved in Shadow form to stand before him, he looked right at me and smiled.
“Well,” the ogre said. “We meet again, little Shadow.”
“Hmph,” I said and dropped my Shadow form. “So you can see me. How, exactly, do you manage that?” Until now, I’d never heard of such an ability existing in the game. Kinda takes the fun out of being a Shadow.
Kragg grinned. “Now, you didn’t sneak into Ogden’s lair in hopes of running into me just to ask that question. You are here to kill that stupid owl and free yourself from that bounty. Right?”
Okay, I can take a hint.
“Yeah, true,” I said. “Sorry about Mudhoof knocking you into the Void. That was not part of the plan.”
With a dismissive wave, Kragg said, “Me and that minotaur will have words at some point. But I hold you no grudge. It’s all part of playing this game.”
“Actually, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Yes, little Shadow?”
“Why didn’t you tell Ogden I was after him? You had plenty of time while floating around out there.”
“Ogden is notorious for issuing bounties, and as a result, I’ve gone on many hunting trips he’s paid for. If he knew I told you about Wally’s Womp, he’d blacklist me from any future bounties.”
I arched an eyebrow. “But it doesn’t look like you two are on good terms now.”
Kragg got a little angry. “Yes, he can be quite a detestable character. Any respect I had for him is now gone. He does not have to treat me this way, yet here I sit in a storage room because he’s a little FILTERED.”
“Is that why you didn’t tell him I was standing right next to him?”
“Partly, but to be honest I was more than surprised to see you here. That alone is a task worthy of respect and one I would not spoil. In fact, if you are interested, I’d like to help.”
It required a lot of self control not to cheer.
“Okay,” I said. “What did you have in mind?”
Kragg knocked against the orb with a large green knuckle. “Cancel this orb, and I’ll help you get at Ogden. He’s got a lot of protection out there, and you’ll need a distraction.” He gave me a hopeful look. “You do have the cancelation orb on you, right?”
I grinned. “Wouldn’t be talking to you if I didn’t.” From my inventory I brought out a little white orb. It floated a few inches above my palm.
Kragg sighed with relief. “Thank the gaming gods!”
“So we have a deal, right? I let you out, and you help me kill Ogden.”
“Deal,” Kragg said seriously.
Guess I’m going to find out real quick if this guy can keep his word.
I raised the white orb and brought it down hard against Kragg’s enclosure.
Like a large soap bubble, the orb popped, and vanished. Kragg dropped to the ground.
The huge ogre stretched out his arms and laughed. “Ah, that feels good.” He eyed me a moment.
Thinking he might attack I raised my sword.
Kragg chuckled. “No need for that. I’m not a deal breaker.” He reached into his tiny leather vest and pulled out a Teleport Token.
Dang! I thought, he’s just going to leave. Figures.
He flicked the Token at me and I caught it in surprise.
“What’s this for?” I said, eyeing it.
“That is for when things get really bad. If you manage to kill that FILTERing owl, his army will descend upon you like rain.”
I slipped the Teleport Token in my inventory and felt relieved to have it. “Thanks a lot.”
With a snap of his large fingers, his yellow unicorn mount appeared beside him.
The beast locked its eyes on me with pure hatred.
Kragg put a reassuring hand on the unicorn and it settled down. To me he asked, “Now, then. What exactly did you have in mind?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Before reentering the vast chamber, I slipped into Shadow form.
I found things unchanged in my brief absence. Ogden and the mage still impatiently watched the Void Portal, and the army of clockwork guards had not moved from their orderly rows.
Following the same path along the ice wall, I kept one eye on the clockwork guards. The lightning wands each held occasionally sparked, giving the assembly a strange light show.
I placed myself within a dozen paces of Ogden. Knowing I had Kragg on my side made me feel a little better about this potentially fatal situation. But whether the ogre would stick to his word was another matter.
Regardless, I was going to kill Ogden, ogre aid or not.
The dark mage suddenly spoke up. “There! I see something!”
Through the Void Portal, at a great distance away, could be seen a large – something. To me it appeared to be a purple fish, or octopus.
“That’s one!” cried Ogden in triumph. “A Titan. And it’s a big one!”
“It is coming within range,” the mage said.
The Titan sensed the Void Portal, or maybe it was the Siren’s Call, and altered its course to approach. The thing grew bigger and bigger, presenting us with a better view.
“Oh, how lucky I am,” Ogden said. “A Kraken!”
The being looked like a mutated squid, with long undulating tentacles which swayed in a swimming motion. On either side of its massive head were eyes the size of houses.
With Ogden’s attention firmly on the Titan, I summoned a magma arrow and gripped my bow. Aiming at his head gave me near identical percentages as before.
Good enough, I thought.
“Got it!” yelled the dark mage as he jumped for joy.
The Kraken stopped as if hitting an invisible wall. But when it tried to fly away, it could not move. Tentacles flailed, some striking against the Portal with no noticeable effect.
“Yes!” said Ogden. “Reel it in and be careful!”
The dark mage made strange motions and gestures with his hands.
The Kraken was pulled closer to the Portal.
All this played out as background noise to me. My focus was on the back of Ogden’s head.
What am I waiting for? I thought. Shoot him!
I fired.
The moment I did, my Shadow form dropped.
In the next moment, the magma arrow struck the back of Ogden’s head – and bounced harmlessly away. It ricochet into the ice wall, melting through and was gone.
And a moment after that, I felt a horrific paralysis seize my entire body. My avatar gasped in surprise and I keeled over to land on my side, unable to move.
Ogden turned and looked down on me. “Oh,” he said with disdain. “It’s you. How annoying.”
Behind him, framed within the Portal, the Kraken silently flailed. It had spun around to reveal a mouth at the center of its tentacles. Dozens of circular rows of teeth opened and closed in rage.
My frozen body was picked up by two clockwork guards, who propped me between them. What just happened?
Ogden came close to leer at me. “Stupid shadow. You really need to do your homework before trying to assassinate someone. Especially when that someone knows you will be coming.” He laughed. “Idiot. I knew that if a hunter didn’t claim the bounty on your head, you would feel compelled to kill me. Well, you tried and failed.”