Patch 17 (Realm of Arkon) by G. Akella, Mark Berelekhis Page B

captives, including the of the House Patriarch's youngest son.
     
    A fluttering of wings tore the archmage from his memories, as a huge white bird landed on a boulder fifty feet away. The arrival cried out in alarm, craning its neck, and turned into a cloud of mist. Dumbfounded, the mage peered into the cloud, watching it take the shape of a young woman. Translucent and perfectly still, she gazed at him wistfully.
     
    "Have you come for me?" Altus smiled.
    Just then there was a tremor a hundred yards away; billows of mist covered the ground, and four towering figures sprang up from it.
    "Wait here, I won't be long," he spoke quietly.
    "I am Prince Saad Khor, First among Equals—Ahriman the Overlord's Throne Attendants—General of the First Punisher Legion, and I have come for you, worm!" a fifteen-foot-tall demon in pitch-black armor stepped forward. "On your knees, and don't even think of resisting. Perhaps then the overlord will grant you an easy death."
    A powerful, dread-inspiring aura emanated from the demon.
    Altus chuckled.
    "I am Count Kyam Altus, Archmage of Erantia, and I spit on you and your overlord's mercy, wretched beasts!"
    Suddenly there was music playing in his head—the same music they had danced to then, two hundred sixty years ago. Altus repelled two Ice Spears and rolled to the beat of the music, evading rocky spikes that shot up from the ground, then activated his traps and conjured up ten astral projections. Smoke flooded into the gorge, and before long he heard the agonizing roar of one of the seven who had stumbled into a trap. A pity, he counted on more casualties than that. But look, Elsa, I'm getting the hang of this! Another pas—a quick portal jump fifty yards to the side, dodging four terrible lightning bolts. An Icy Fan—his go-to spell—then Quicksand and another Fan at the ensnared monster! He teleported again and spun around. There wouldn't be any mistakes this time. Two mighty strikes with Watery Lash at the horned mug that had popped out of the smoke, and an Ice Arrow with a decoy to finish off the beast.
    With his shields already exhausted, he set into the final movement of the dance—hurling a pair of Windblades at the two demons that had appeared to his right, he focused all his remaining strength on the Ice Spear at the one who'd managed to block the blade. The last accord sounded, the music faded, and her tear-stained face appeared before his eyes.
    "I did it, sweetheart! Why are you crying?"
    Several moments later, four demons stood over a body prostrated on the rocks. Clutching his wounded shoulder, pierced by an ice spear, General Saad Khor contemplated dourly the golden glyphs on the chest of Erantia's dead archmage.
     
    ***
     
    I sat perfectly still, transfixed by the vision. The roaring flames, the peals of thunder and sundering rock—all this was gradually receding, yielding to the music of savanna at night.
     
    You've completed the quest, Duty Calls, Part I.
    You have gained a level! Current level: 2.
    Racial bonus: +1% to resistance to dark magic, +1% resistance to light magic.
    Class bonus: +1 to intellect; +1 to spirit.
    You have 3 stat points to allocate.
     
    You have gained a level!
    …
    You have gained a level!
    …
     
    You have gained a level! Current level: 10.
    You have 1 talent point to allocate.
    Racial bonus: +1% to resistance to dark magic, +1% resistance to light magic.
    Class bonus: +1 to intellect; +1 to spirit.
    You have 27 stat points to allocate.              
    Your character can now choose a specialization.
     
    You have gained a level! Current level: 11.
    You have 2 talent points to allocate.
    Racial bonus: +1% to resistance to dark magic, +1% resistance to light magic.
    Class bonus: +1 to intellect; +1 to spirit.
    You have 30 stat points to allocate.
     
    Logic would dictate that a quest this high level should have netted me heaps more experience—enough for level 30 or thereabouts, so it must have triggered the hidden