TerrellGarrett
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Psycho Duel Chapter 36: It Begins With a Handshake
🕑 Added 2022-12-10 23:57:35 +0000 UTCWalt had mixed feelings about riding Grimscale. On one hand, flying on the wyvern was exhilarating. The mount travelled at a scary speed, even when compared to his Boots of Nemora. They had covered sixty miles in half an hour. On the other hand, Grimscale had tried to kill him when it was under control of the Bloodhound. Walt could still remember the sensation of the wyvern’s teeth sinking into his flesh.
Crossville, where Walt’s sister and mother had gone, was almost one hundred miles east of Nashville. He and Richard had agreed to land near the halfway mark between the two locations, where they would go their separate ways.
They found some unoccupied farmland and descended, landed in a field of tall, dry yellowed grass that had woods on one side. Copses of trees were scattered about. There was an old dilapidated farmhouse and a barn that had fallen into ruin.
“You mind if I use the card forge before we part?” Richard said. “I think I can dust enough stuff for some upgrades. I want to be prepared if I have to duel.”
“Sure.”
They went into the old barn. There were cobwebs. Dust floated in the shafts of moonlight coming in through holes in the roof. It smelled like old hay and rust. The remains of a John Deere tractor sat near the entrance.
Walt set up the forge for Richard on the bale of hay. “What are you going to do after you find your daughter?”
As Richard went through his collection, he said, “Well, the original plan was to get her out of Nashville. I own some beach front property on Tybee Island. It’s not remote, but it has a population of only a few thousand people. And, it’s still an island. Might be a safer place to be than Nashville.”
“Isn’t that near Savannah?”
Richard nodded, selecting cards to dust. “It is. Twenty miles give or take.”
“You know,” Walt said. “I’ve been thinking.”
Richard dusted a card and collected the vial of dust. “About?”
“How we can hunker down with our families. How we can find these remote places to live to keep them in safe. But how long will that last?”
Richard didn’t respond. He fed the dust into the forge and upgraded a card.
Walt continued. “Like me and my mom and my sister can hide in this cabin for a while. I can help protect them. We can probably get enough supplies to survive for a long time. But how long until a Danger Zone pops up and forces us to move to a new location?”
The forge spit out Richard’s new upgraded card, he took it and held it in his hands. Then he looked up at Walt. “Hope and pray that the location is remote enough to avoid a Danger Zone altogether?”
“Slaynami most definitely knows our locations because of the gauntlets,” Walt said. “There’s no way they aren’t tracking every duelist’s movement. If we avoid conflict for too long, they will force to move closer together. Just like in those Battle Royale games.”
“The circle will get smaller and smaller,” Richard said.
“Until we’re all herded together and forced to duel.”
“So what do you suggest?”
“The Slaycast mentioned how duelists form alliances. It makes sense. Easier to stay alive and make it to the later tournament phases. They probably stake out a territory, use brute force to take it over with their cards and gauntlets. Then they run and defend it while they amass power through winning duels.”
Richard fed another card into the forge for upgrading. “They probably stockpile Psycho Points, gauntlets, Slaynami credits, the works. Stay ahead of the tournament requirements while having their way with the population and living like kings and queens.”
“I was thinking more like warlords.”
“Not much difference, considering our situation.”
“I think we have a real chance to protect ourselves from them. Between us both, we’ve beaten five Psycho Slingers. And it’s only the first day.”
Richard upgraded another card, but he seemed amenable to the idea. He was nodding.
“We can pool resources,” Walt said. “Help protect each other and our loved ones long enough until we figure out what the next move is.”
“It could be a start,” Richard said. “There’s gotta be more people like us out there.”
“There is. An old friend of mine is Japan. He’s part of a group of pro-gamers who managed to beat a few Psycho Slingers. Last time I heard.”
The old man scratched his chin. “If only there was a way we could all form a team.”
“We have better odds as a team.”
Richard gauntleted his upgraded cards. Then he held out his hand. “Alright, kid. I didn’t need much convincing. But you convinced me.”
Walt took the older man’s hand. His grip was surprisingly full of strength. They shook on it.
#
They decided they would make better time if Richard continued to Nashville to retrieve his daughter while Walt hurried to Crossville to meet up with his sister and mother. Then Richard and his daughter would fly to Walt’s family cabin near Crossville.
Richard handed Walt one of his walkie-talkie devices.
Walt took it and studied the device. It was black with an orange screen and a grid of number buttons. There were two knobs and an antenna on the top. “A walkie talkie?”
“Better. A hand-held HAM radio.”
“We should trade phone information too. We might still have reception.”
“These are for just in case.”
After they exchanged their phone numbers, Richard showed Walt how to tune into the frequency they would use.
“What’s the range on these things?” Walt said.
“Well, with a base station, HAM radio can reach anywhere around the world. But with these hand-held units? Theoretical range is around forty miles. But who can tell with land and air obstructions and such? I’d safe to be safe they most likely have an operating range of twenty miles. So these will only work if we’re within that range.”
“Still better to have phones then.”
“Until cell phone reception and service gets interrupted.”
Richard summoned Grimscale from his gauntlet and climbed on top of the young wyvern. “Oh, I almost forgot.”
He ejected a card out of his gauntlet. It was the Darkened Soul Arts card he had promised Walt for helping him get to Nashville. He held it down towards Walt.
Walt took the card. Even though it had only been half a day, it felt like forever ago since they had met and made their agreement.
Salvatore’s Phylactery. Object. Set: Darkened Soul Arts. Rarity: Epic. Created by Renaldo Salvatore, ice lich of the frozen North.
Store your soul in the phylactery. When Health Points reach zero, resurrect from Phylactery with 15 Health Points.
Cost: 8 Vigor Stones
Walt gauntleted the card. “Well, I hope to see you at the cabin.”
“Give me three days or so.”
“And after that?”
“Then, I probably didn’t make it, kid. But don’t mourn me. I’ll just be attending a reunion.” He flashed the wedding ring on his finger. Then he dug his Goblin Rocket Boot heels into Grimscale and the wyvern lifted into the air.
Walt watched Richard fly off into the distance, the old man atop the wyvern flapping its wings, the pair growing smaller and smaller in the night sky until they were out of view.
Walt grasped his new card and wondered if he’d ever see the old man again.
#
Inside the barn, Walt took the time to dust more cards and make some more upgrades. He figured he would only get enough Vigor Dust to upgrade a couple common cards. The cost for upgrading any rarity above common was pretty expensive, whereas a common card only required one-hundred Vigor Dust.
He disenchanted the Katarina Ragnaress card and felt a sense of satisfaction doing so. She had been one of the Twelve Lords of the Hunt that tried to shoot him with her Flintlock Blaster. She was a Legendary and yielded one hundred Vigor Dust, which he used to upgrade his Desecrate X card to Level Two.
Desecrate X (Level 2). Spell. Set: Darkened Soul Arts. Rarity: Common. Cast this affliction spell to weaken an enemy minion or enemy hero.
Surrounds them in a noxious green cloud. While this spell is in effect, will amplify the damage the enemy minion or hero takes from other Darkened Soul Arts Cards.
This will until the spell is cleansed or cured.
6 Damage Per Instance
Cost: 3 Vigor Stones
It increased the card’s damage from three to six points per instance, which was pretty insane, considering it would proc every time a minion or hero took damage from a Darkened Soul Arts card.
Next, he disenchanted the Bloodhound’s rare gun, Big Game Blaster. Richard had taken the rare bow, Nok’Roshar, preferring the Bloodseeking Arrows to the grapeshot of the Blaster. Walt considered keeping the Blaster but discovered the weapon was incompatible with his class. When he tried to equip it, he got a system message.
Weapon Incompatible
Voidlocks do not have proficiency in Guns.
Walt had frowned but wasn’t bothered by the discovery. Rare cards yielded fifty points of Vigor Dust at this level, so he also dusted King of Rams from the Beasts of Ligeia set. That set could only be used by Bloodhounds.
He used the Vigor Dust from both cards to upgrade another common card, Blood Worm Bomber.
Blood Worm Bomber (Level 2). Minion. Set: Darkened Soul Arts. Rarity: Common. Plump worms birthed inside the infernal red pomegranates whose trees grow on the shores of the Nether Realm. They are swollen with blood, threatening to burst.
Death Cry Effect: Bursts and hits the enemy hero for 6 damage.
Blood Spit: 4 Attack, Cooldown: 2 seconds
Cost: 3 Vigor Stones
The upgraded doubled the damage for the minion overall, and when combined with Replicate, the cumulative Death Cry Effect would be pretty substantial. Walt still considered this minion a sleeper card. He’d hopefully get more use out of it before he’d have to retire the combo.
He worried about the Slaycast and streamer footage revealing his tricks. Not much he could do about it for the time being. So he would have to be constantly changing up his tactics and cards. He always wanted to have a surprise up his sleeve, no matter his reputation.
He put the forge back into its bag and then he equipped the Boots of Nemora. It was time to find his family.
#
As Walt flew over the Cumberland Plateau, he saw Crossville growing closer in the distance. It was a rural hilltop city that had a population of around ten thousand people. It was a destination for outdoor lovers because of its vicinity to Cumberland Mountain and its lake. His grandfather’s cabin was near the lake, tucked into the lush wilderness of the mountain.
But he noticed an intact cell-phone tower near the city and he decided to venture into its range so he could give his sister a call, inform her he’d there soon. He didn’t want her to be alarmed when he arrived.
He hovered near the tower, the wings on his boots flapping as fast as hummingbird wings. His phone was picking up on the signal so it was working. He dialed the number.
The phone rang and rang, but instead of his sister answering, he was met with an automated message.
“We’re sorry, but you’re call cannot be completed at this time.”
The call ended and he frowned. Maybe there was something up with the cellular network or there was something wrong on her end. No matter, he was close enough to get to the cabin real soon. But he sent her a text message anyways.
I’m almost there. If you hear noises, it’s just me arriving.
The message had three dots after it, indicating it was trying to send. He looked at his previous texts and saw that they had been received. But there had been no responses.
Odd. He had an urgent, sick feeling in his stomach. He pocketed his phone and pointed in the direction of the mountain, swiveling in the air.
And that’s when there was a thunderous crack and explosion behind him. The force of the blast sent Walt tumbling forward, an intense heat at his back. As he tumbled, he caught a glimpse of flames and saw the cell-phone tower falling forward.
Metal groaned and a loud creaking filled Walt’s ears. He righted himself and turned to face the tower. The top half was on fire, the structure had been blasted by intense heat. The metal was melting and dripping to the earth. Cables had snapped and blue electricity was crackling from the frayed ends.
Then another blast streaked from the side and hit the tower in the middle. This time the fireball obliterated more of the structure. The tower snapped in half and it fell. Right towards Walt.
“Oh, shit!” Walt said. He streaked away, barely dodging the collapsing cell-phone tower. It crashed to the earth in a huge cacophony. Electricity, flames and smoke filled the area.
He hovered in the air and saw the source of the fireballs. Below, there was someone else floating in the air. It was a woman with blonde ringlets and flowing blue robes. She held a mystical staff. The hand holding the staff was encased in a glowing card gauntlet.
Name: Shae Jordan
AKA: The Flame of the Silver Tongue
Psycho Slinger
Record: 3-0-0
Class: Thaumaturge
Their eyes met and she was just as surprised to see him here in the air above her.
Comments
TheLost
the names on these out of world slingers are to similar to our current naming convention if it was a different culture on a different world i would expect something other then Jordan and Smith
Stephen Pearson
Thanks for the chapter:-)
