“HELP!”

Tahpa must've died while Maya was locked out, because she saw only the lower-level elf woman running around frantically, screaming. Eleona. When Maya stepped into the room, she was unsurprised to note that everyone else’s names were still grey. She was surprised to notice that Eleona’s health bar had increased dramatically in her absence. It was well over twice the thickness of Maya’s - though mostly empty at present.

“HELP!!”

“How?”

Eleona turned, saw Maya, and ran over to her. “Finally! Here, take this, pass it on. Don’t die!”

She passed Maya an item, [Unique] Button of Steadiness, then immediately collapsed, her name going grey.

Maya equipped the item, bemused and befuddled, but she had no time to think about it before the still-furious Phoenix demanded her full attention.

A quick glance at the health bars as she took off running showed that it was down to a little over two-thirds of its health. So whatever Tahpa had been doing, he’d managed to deal a decent chunk of damage before going down.

But now their formerly-organized boss raid had devolved into some crazy form of tag. And apparently Maya was it now.

At least the button had nearly doubled her health pool. That explained how Eleona had managed to survive this long. Instead of her usual 132 health, Maya now had 252 - more than she’d ever had, even with Shadow’s overpowered equipment in the Arena.

Still, the Phoenix would cut through that pretty fast if she didn’t focus on evading.

It was still enraged, still attacking at double speed, still roaring and doing its huge flame-waves attack every fifteen seconds. Even at her best running and dodging, Maya wasn’t fast enough to completely escape it. With its full attention on her, even 252 health wouldn’t last longer than a few minutes.

She ran until it went into its rest cycle, then fired as many Wind Whispers as she could, then resumed running. Its area attacks always knocked off at least three or four of her health, if not ten or twenty.

Maya evaded all but two of its claw attacks, and managed not to be pinned by its ravaging beak, but when it roared again she began to despair of success.

She slowed as the certainty began to sink in. She should give up. They'd come this far, but it would be unreasonable to expect victory. She should just walk away.

But. . .?

In that brief moment of uncertainty, Maya finally realized what was happening. The Phoenix's roar had been methodically reducing her will stat. And without the advantage of numbers, in enemy territory, she had little chance to resist.

4 of 18, and the strain was almost physical as it tried to convince her to stop running, stop trying.

She had no chance of survival, why prolong the inevitable?

No!

Maya hissed, angry at herself and the Phoenix both. She wouldn’t give up!

The distraction of the mental effort cost her, allowing the Phoenix to slash her with its claws, -31 health, and knocked her to the ground. She forced herself to stand and run.

Veyanto’s grey health bar flickered out, then reappeared at full. Maya sighed with relief. She wouldn’t have been able to hold out another minute. One more roar and she knew her flagging will would have crumpled completely.

“Veyanto! Over here!”

He hurried to her, moving in a near-blur.

“Here, take this, pass it on, don’t die,” she said, repeating Eleona’s instructions, relieved that it was Veyanto. Of the lower-leveled players, he was the best at running and dodging. The moment the button left her equipment, her health plunged from 34 deep into the negatives, and she found herself back in the logged-out area.

You have died.

Well. This was certainly turning out more chaotic than she’d ever imagined.

She wondered where the button had come from and why Eleona hadn’t used it earlier, then remembered where she'd seen it before. It was Tahpa's. And it had given Maya nearly a hundred extra health. She couldn't be sure, but she felt like Tahpa would regret losing it . As it was, she just hoped Veyanto could survive long enough to pass it on to someone with more attack power.

So far, it seemed only Tahpa and Fridget had a chance. Though, maybe if Nalana was distracting it and Ranon could attack from behind, without the priest’s drain ability to worry about, they could make some headway as well.

Maya wondered how long it would be before the others were able to respawn. Tahpa had said they needed to wait six minutes for Fridget, so clearly the lockout period lasted longer for higher level players.

It was very disconcerting, these periods of brief frantic action, punctuated by minutes of just waiting and thinking and worrying. Not exactly pleasant. She couldn’t even imagine how bad it would be for someone like Fridget, so intense and active, to wait for three times as long! At that point, she’d almost have to log into another world or drive herself crazy.

The countdown ended, Maya Starborn an available character once more.

She sighed with relief as she re-entered the battleground. Veyanto was still alive! And now so were Nalana and Ranon.

“What’s the plan?” Maya shouted, ducking behind a pillar to evade the Phoenix’s flame attack. She was glad to see its health was now at around 60%. They were making progress!

“Kill the Phoenix, and don’t die,” Nalana said, throwing a spear.

Veyanto still had the button, Maya could tell; his health bar was nearly as thick as Nalana’s. Both had taken damage, but neither was much below half.

Ranon stood beside Nalana, passing her spears. Now she looked more carefully, Maya could see a thick layer of sharp frost coating each spearpoint before Ranon passed them over.

Maya left them to it, and started casting Wind Whisper.

“I’m losing focus!” Veyanto called. “You’re hitting too hard, I can’t hold him.”

“I’ve got it, Vey,” Nalana shouted back. “Rane, keep firing.” Nalana used her bellowing taunt attack again, instantly seizing the Phoenix’s attention. Veyanto ducked close to Nalana as they switched places. Maya realized he was passing on the button, because Veyanto’s health dropped and, a second later, Nalana’s increased.

Thankfully, Veyanto wasn’t as close to death as either Maya or Eleona had been, and survived the handoff. He resumed casting his little white spells and Maya began to finally feel that things were under control again.

Eleona reappeared a few minutes later. She ran over to Maya, who was currently hiding by the entrance waiting for her energy to recharge.

“You survived!”

“No, I died, but I passed the button to Veyanto first.”

“Vey is quick. Good choice.”

Maya snorted. “Wasn’t much of a choice, he was the only one around. Then he just gave it to Nalana a minute ago.”

“Also a good choice. She was a warrior before joining the mage academy. Now shh.” Eleona held up a hand, and Maya refrained from asking anything more. They watched as Nalana wove her way around the room, the Phoenix close behind.

Eleona stepped out into the open and began casting her own spell. This wasn’t one Maya was familiar with, requiring a much longer buildup. Eleona waved her hands through the air in a sort of looping windmill, as though scooping something from the air to either side of herself and piling it in front of her chest, then suddenly snapped both hands upward just as the Phoenix let off another of its flame area attacks.

Maya saw everyone begin glowing in the same moment, and blinked in surprise as everyone’s health bars froze midway through the attack. Only the Phoenix’s moved; everyone else had simultaneously stopped taking damage.

Eleona stood, hands still raised, breathing slowly and deeply. It wasn't just a light spell. It was a shield spell!

“Wow," Maya breathed, awed. "You have got to teach me that.”

Eleona smiled. “Everyone wants it. Invented it myself, so it’s proprietary and all that. I’m pretty sure it’s the only reason I was allowed to come on a high-level dungeon like this.”

“Apart from the fact we needed a minimum of seven players and everyone else is busy?”

“Apart from that.” Eleona grinned wider, but she was beginning to look strained. The Phoenix raised its wings again for its area attack, and Maya jumped away behind a pillar. Eleona didn’t move.

“Hurry!”

“Can’t, it’ll drop if I—” Eleona winced as the flame washed over her, then again, yet remained firmly in her stance. Her health dropped in two quick bursts, but her shield prevented her from being killed outright.

Then Fridget appeared, running in through the door, her ice-coloured dress distinct among the fiery atmosphere of the room.

Maya couldn’t help it, she cheered. So did several of the others.

“I’m impressed,” Fridget said as she took in the combatants. She slowed to a stop facing the Phoenix. “Think you can hold him in place for me?”

“I’ll try!” Nalana ran over, positioning herself so the Phoenix would be between herself and Fridget, then planted her feet and drew a sword from her inventory. Nalana shouted, the cone of sound hitting the Phoenix full in the side of its face. The Phoenix immediately turned to claw and peck at her while Nalana slashed at it with the blade.

Fridget backed up to take a running start, then bounded into the air and grabbed the Phoenix by its tail feathers. Maya winced, but apparently Eleona’s spell was sturdy enough to handle the contact fire damage, as Fridget’s health didn’t move.

“How long can you keep that up?” Maya asked.

Eleona shook her head. “Not much longer. As long as I’m not interrupted, it lasts about two minutes after casting.”

So less than a minute left, by Maya’s calculations.

She cast a Wind Whisper, wishing she had more energy or faster regen. It made no noticeable change in the Phoenix’s health bar.

But Fridget was still doing her. . . something. While holding onto the Phoenix’s tail, she moved her other hand in a rhythmic swaying motion. A thin blue glow began to creep up the Phoenix, starting from Fridget’s hand and slowly engulfing the entire creature. Its health bar gained a blue border, and its frenzied motions slowed to only slightly faster than it had been before enraging.

“Two minutes,” Eleona whispered.

“What? Is that how long Fridget's spell will last?”

Eleona shook her head. “We have to hold out two more minutes. Then Tahpa will be back, and with the whole team we can finish this.”

Maya looked around. Nalana’s health was falling fast, though everyone else’s remained stable.

“Why isn’t your shield protecting Nalana?”

“My spell only blocks elemental and magical damage, not physical attacks.”

“Should we tell her to run?”

Eleona shook her head. “That’s not our job. If she needs to run, she’ll make the call.”

Maya watched helplessly as Nalana’s health reached 30%, then dropped down to a quarter under the Phoenix’s relentless slashes.

Thankfully, Nalana’s health bar wasn’t the only thing going down. The Phoenix was still taking damage, though significantly less than Maya could wish. Ranon had his lightning spell set up again, she recognized his casting stance. Even if it couldn’t immobilize the Phoenix, it was dealing steady, if slow, damage. Vey threw his little spells. Fridget kept the Phoenix slowed, which was probably the only reason Nalana wasn’t dead already.

It was a relief when the Phoenix paused its physical attacks to roar at them and fire waves of flame. With Eleona’s protection spell, the fire damage was drastically reduced. Though she didn’t duck behind anything, Maya took only seven damage from both waves.

“Rane?” Nalana took advantage of the momentary lull while the Phoenix hovered in its resting state to back up a few steps.

“Here.” Ranon let his lightning spell fade and hurried over, dropping a bundle of spears with glistening frosty tips beside her.

Nalana nodded and grabbed a spear.

Eleona’s spell ended, and she exhaled slowly. “One minute.”

Maya somehow doubted that Tahpa - despite being apparently the primary damage-dealer of the team - would be enough to turn the tide. The Phoenix still had over half of its health, and they’d been fighting here for. . . a long time, taking into account Maya’s repeated deaths.

Then Nalana started throwing the frosty spears, and Maya was forced to reconsider her assessment.

Though each took the Phoenix’s health down by only a sliver, it was still visible progress with every hit. Once Ranon finished recasting his lightning spell, the effect became even more dramatic.

By the time Maya recovered enough energy to cast another Wind Whisper, the Phoenix’s health had finally dropped below half, perhaps as low as 45%, but she wasn’t the best at judging from just the visuals.

Then Nalana’s health reached nothing, and Vey shouted, “NO!”

He ran toward her, but too late. Her bar went grey, and she collapsed and disappeared.

“She still had it!”

Maya was puzzled for a second, before she remembered the health-boosting button they’d been passing around.

“We won't make it,” Eleona said from beside her, her voice dulled.

“We will.”

“Ranon is out of energy. I’m out of energy. Vey is out of energy. You’re out of energy. Fridget is going to die if she doesn’t get out of contact with the Phoenix in the next minute, and her big fire spells will only be half as effective against a creature of flame. Even if one of us holds out until Tahpa gets back, without his button he’ll only have a little more health than you or I. Without Fridget keeping the Phoenix slowed, there’s no way he’ll hold out long enough.”

No energy.

No way to get more.

There was one thing Maya could do than none of the others could. She wasn’t sure if her sudden inspiration was brilliant or utterly idiotic, but she had to act NOW if it were to have any hope of success.

“Tell him to wait for me!” Maya shouted, then ran at the Phoenix.

“Maya?!”

She ignored Eleona, snatched the last spear from what had been Nalana’s pile, and jumped, stabbing forward and driving the spear into the Phoenix’s side. It was a weak blow, doing far less damage than Nalana’s throws, but it did attract its momentary attention.

Maya clung to the spear with one hand, slashing wildly with her little knife in the other, but the spear wasn’t in very deeply and she couldn’t reach. Her slashes cut only air.

The Phoenix could reach her, though, and it did. With its dreadful crackling roar, it slashed her with both claws, then ran her through with its beak.

She didn’t need to watch her health bar drop to nothing; she’d known it would happen.

You've been killed by the Risen Phoenix.

Maya exhaled, or did the mental equivalent thereof. She smiled, then brought up the interface while she waited, hoping desperately that her scheme would work.

The moment she respawned, she ran into the Phoenix's cavern. Tahpa was alive. So was Vey, but no one else.

“Tahpa! You still have that flame protection spell?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then let’s do that jump thing again!”

Tahpa looked at her, then laughed. “Eleona said you wanted me to wait for you. That’s your plan?”

“Dying resets my energy to full, and I can respawn faster than anyone else here. I wish I’d thought of it sooner, I could’ve been already waiting. But whatever you did last time, you dealt a lot of damage.”

“I won’t last as long,” he warned, and a glance at his health revealed that to be correct. He was already down to half, his bar even thinner than Veyanto’s. Losing his unique button had been a serious blow to his health pool.

“We’re so close! The Phoenix is at a quarter health. We can do this!”

Vey, currently on run-the-Phoenix-around-the-room duty, took another hit, his health dropping dangerously low.

“Might as well try,” Tahpa said. “Be ready when he comes past. About half charge should do, he’s flying low at the moment.”

Maya nodded, charged Wind Whisper to six overcharge stacks, and focused on Tahpa. He crouched, ready to jump, and Maya thought she could feel time slowing down as he leapt into the air, just as Vey ran past. Maya fired the Wind Whisper, and Tahpa shot away from her and up.

Their aim wasn’t as perfect this time. Tahpa hit the Phoenix in the face, scrabbled down its feathery head for a grip, and ended up hanging off its beak. It bit down, dropping his health by nearly a third of what he had left, but he didn’t let go.

Maya ran to get in front of them, then fired a double overcharged Wind Whisper at him to give him a boost up. He swung himself up and, with the wind’s assistance, landed on the Phoenix’s back.

“How long until someone else spawns back in?” Maya shouted, as the Phoenix twisted in the air, trying to dislodge Tahpa from its back.

“Too long. This is it. If we don’t bring it down in the next two minutes, I’m done.”

Two minutes. How many hundreds of health did the Phoenix still have, that they needed to burn through in minutes?

Maya had 25 energy left, enough to cast Wind Whisper five times. At four-ish damage each, that was 20 damage. She cast it anyway, again and again until her energy was spent.

Then she gasped as another thought occurred to her.

“Tahpa! Do you have any energy-boosting items, like your button?”

“Yes. But they’re already equipped, it won’t do me any good—”

“No, give them to me! As soon as your energy runs out, give them to me.”

“Good thought, but most of them are for level 30, you wouldn’t be able to equip them.”

“Most?”

“I already gave Eleona my Unique button. I only have one other Unique.”

“But does it increase energy?”

“Yes.”

He continued casting his shield and whatever damage dealing spell he used, taking damage in the tiny space between castings. The Phoenix’s health continued to drop. 15%. 10%. 5%. Lower. Just a tiny bit left. . .

Maya held her breath, they could win this—

Then its health stopped falling.

Tahpa jumped off its back, his own health nearly empty. He ran to Maya and passed her the [Unique] Amulet of Power. “That’s all I’ve got,” he said.

“We’ll see if it’s enough.” Maya equipped the amulet, and her energy increased by 45. Nine casts of Wind Whisper. 36 damage. It didn’t sound like much, but they were so close.

She started casting. That last tiny sliver of health didn’t move. Vey’s health dropped the last few points and he disappeared. Tahpa drew a massive two-handed sword and charged the Phoenix, distracting it from Maya for just a second, before it skewered him with its beak and took out the last of his health.

It was just her.

Just seconds left.

She cast her last Wind Whisper, praying it would be enough. . .

The Phoenix roared and one final wave of flame burst out from it, dropping Maya’s health by 50 and pushing her back with the force of its heat.

Then its health bar went grey. The Phoenix crumpled in on itself, its flames dying, seeming to shrink as it collapsed to the ground in a heap of golden-red feathers.

The room lit up in brilliant gold and red fireworks, accompanied by a distant chorus chanting a brief uplifting motif.

CONGRATULATIONS! You have completed the Crimson Flame Dungeon instance! Return to the dungeon’s entrance for your rewards.

Maya giggled, her health desperately low, energy completely depleted, heartbeat still racing and adrenaline slowly fading. She breathed deeply, slowly, forced her hysterical laughter to silence, then sat down heavily, relief and too much strain all hitting her at once.

She glanced at her stat sheet. If not for her specialization, if not for the Amulet of Power, that last attack would’ve ended her.

Maya didn’t move. She had no desire to climb however many hundred steps it would take to reach the top. She leaned back against the warm pillar behind her, its surface scored from the Phoenix’s claws and scorched from countless waves of flame from its wings.

They’d done it. She’d done it. Somehow. Miraculously.

Luckily?

She laughed weakly, wondering if she’d need to thank the Trickster for this, or if they’d managed to win without external influence.

She’d probably never know. Even if she had the chance to ask, she wasn’t sure she’d trust any answer he gave.

Character Maya Starborn Average Androgynous Harpy Level: 6 Affinities: Magical Physical Tier: 1 Class: Trickster Specialization: Path of Life Attributes Base Equipment Modifiers Total Strength: 8 0 0 8 Momentum: 11 2 3 16 Agility: 8 2 1 11 Control: 8 39 0 47 Attunement: 15 20 1 36 Focus: 8 0 1 9 Intelligence: 13 0 2 15 Flexibility: 8 0 1 9 Luck: 89 - -10 79 Unassigned: 0 Derivatives Health: 42 of 162 Will: 8 of 18 Stamina: 153 of 153 Energy: 4 of 125 Speed: 1.31 Switch penalty: -13%, 6.3 secs Stealth: 0.71 Chain bonus: +5% Awareness: 1.44 Cooldown: 95.5% Max abilities: 4 Abilities Abilities: [5 of 4] Wind Whisper

[5 energy] Blow into cupped hands, then push the air toward the target.

Creates a light breeze, a quick gust, or a damaging slash.

[Overcharge: +5 energy, +0.2 sec cast time, +50% force/duration/dmg] 1.9 sec

5 dmg

(wind) Throw Knife

[5 stamina] Throw a knife at a target with high accuracy. Requires a knife. 0.8 sec

3 dmg

(physical) Windborne Blade

[45 energy, 5 stamina] Cast Wind Whisper in a loop up and behind, aligning with throwing arm.

Throw knife straight at target with wind as augment. 4.3 sec

33 dmg

{physical} Spark

[5 energy] Draw magic into palm and snap fingers to ignite into a spark of fire.

Can be used as a light or thrown at a target. 1.1 sec

3 dmg

(fire) Sense Balance Discern if an area is lacking in or has an excess of any materials, creatures, etc. Inventory Item Name Slot Str Mom Agi Con Att Foc Int Flx Minor Chestpiece of the Dancer Body 1 1 Ordinary Gloves of Control Hands 13 Minor Waistwrap of the Dancer Legs 1 1 Footwraps of the Acrobat Feet 2 Lesser Bracelet of Control Arm 1 4 Amulet of Power Necklace 20 20 Trickster's Mask (Mage) Special Money: 70 Gold, 6 Silver, 12 Copper Quality Item name Details Flimsy Newcomer Tunic Flimsy Newcomer Leggings Soulbound Trickster's Dice Soulbound Trickster's Orb 2/5 uses remaining Flimsy Orchard Map Normal Apple x2 Unknown Unidentified Orb Normal Throwing Knife x9 3 damage (physical) Special Key - Arrival Plaza Apartment Expires in 27 days Special Key - Room 6, Sapphire Hall Special Arena Equipment Token Registered to Maya Starborn Missions Mission Description

Time Reward A Private Grudge Claim Standalone's house in Conquest and hold it for at least 10 hours. Personal House Trickster Day 4 Claim in Conquest the home of the next player you see.

Once claimed, hold it for 24 hours. 6d 8h 41m Trickster's Reward

??? Arena (Shadow) Spend at least one day every week fighting in the Arena Ongoing Variable Trickster Day 3 Lose a fight to another player in the Arena DONE Ordinary Gloves of Control

+5 reputation with The Trickster Gazebo Construction Construct a new gazebo for Maylon the Poet

[Optional] Also varnish the entire structure once built DONE 3 silver 50 copper

+5 reputation with Maylon the Poet Trickster Day 2 Lose a fight to another player in PVP DONE Lesser Bracelet of Control

+5 reputation with The Trickster Windy Creek reconstruction Locate the missing workers' tools

Construct a new dam by Windy Creek

Help clear the wreckage of the old Windy Creek Dam

Help construct a new bridge over Windy Creek DONE 5 silver, 80 copper

+25 reputation with Windy Creek village Trickster Day 1 Side with a person who is losing an argument or disagreement. FAILED -5 reputation with The Trickster Help Shary the Produce Merchant Find the missing apple delivery boy. Ensure his safety and the successful delivery of apples to Shary's Produce Stand. DONE 5 copper

3 apples

+10 reputation with Shary and Elaph