Chapter 35 - The Cave and The Worgen (1/2)

Balthazar continued to follow Elias along a rocky path on the Blackrock hills. He occasionally saw a treasure chest along the path but couldn't stop to loot them as Elias didn't stop on the way.

After a few minutes, a light enveloped around Elias as he leveled up. In vita-nova, even NPCs acc.u.mulate experience points and level up similar to the players. After the level up, the speed with which they went through the hills with much higher speed.

An hour later, they reached a small black cave. There were a bunch of wolves numbering about twenty monsters patrolling the entrance. A couple of the special elites were also along with the pack of wolves at the cave. Balthazar quickly pulled behind a large boulder to hide.

”There are far too many wolves there. Why don't I attract a few monsters which we can take down first? We can slowly take them down in smaller numbers. It would safer this way,” suggested Balthazar to Elias.

”OK. We can try that, but I doubt the blackrock wolves wouldn't be easily fooled to leave the entrance,” said Elias and began to wait behind the boulder.

”Attack them only after I give the signal,” said Balthazar as he moved out

He quickly picked up a small rock from the ground and threw it on one of the elite wolves at the edge of the pack. This attracted a small pack of 4 of them towards Balthazar.

Balthazar quickly ran towards Elias. After he reached close enough to Elias, he said in a loud voice, ”Attack!”. Elias quickly rushed towards the wolves and smashed his shield against the wolves.

Being attacked by both Elias and Balthazar, the wolves were taken down in a minute. In this way, they managed to take down all the elite wolves but the blackrock wolves wouldn't budge however many times he tried.

”As I told you the blackrock wolves wouldn't move away from their guard positions,” said Elias. He quickly took off towards the cave entrance and dashed towards a blackrock wolf and with his usual attack of smashing them with his shield.

Even though Balthazar donned two equipment and both Balthazar and Elias managed to level up since the took down the first blackrock wolf, they had a very hard time to take the two wolves down.

Both the blackrock wolves tried to flank them from two sides continuously. Balthazar had to run around one of the wolves and distract it continuously from Elias, till he managed to kill the other one.

Though he had a very high speed, the blackrock wolf was not slow and every attack from it cause a bleed effect if it hit him. Being an assassin, his defence and toughness was very low. So, Balthazar became walking pincushion trying to distract the blackrock wolf.

By the time, Elias was finished with one wolf, Balthazar had almost died. He had to take a health potion to stay alive. Elias began to attack the other wolf after he killed one and this gave Balthazar a small reprieve. He quickly went out to recover a bit of his health before he joined Elias back in the fight.

He also found a blackrock crystal and wolf fang from each of the blackrock wolves. After looting the wolves, they slowly went into the cave. The cave was completely devoid of the wolves. It was pitch black inside without a single light.

Elias pulled out a small torch and lit it. Then they could see that the wall of the cave was black and crystalline. Balthazar was shocked to see the cave. He quickly pulled out his pickaxe and struck the wall and a small black crystal fragment fell down, which he immediately picked up.

”Blackrock crystal fragment found. Can combine 10 fragments to form a blackrock crystal”

”What are you doing?” asked Elias stopping Balthazar. ”We need to be quiet. Follow me silently,” he continued as he moved deeper into the cave. It was like a long tunnel.

After they continued for a quarter mile into the cave, red light fell onto the floor from the far end of the cave. They silently continued forward towards the red light.

As they reached the end of the tunnel, they found a large enclosure. There was a bright red altar at the centre of the enclosure. There was a blackrock wolf bleeding from its neck and floating on the altar. Four elite wolves were at four corners of the altar and seemed to be connected by a string of blood.

An emaciated looking worgen in front of the altar holding a large sceptre with a large red ember at its top. A two feet long shield was between the alter and the worgen. The same picture of the griffin that was on the Rotar's crest quest item was there one the shield.

The red light was radiating from the worgen and it sceptre. A flickering small dark portal was slowly being formed atop the bleeding blackrock wolf. He was definitely a worgen summoner who is in the midst of some kind of ritual. ”The shield it was using as a medium is surely the family heirloom that Elias is searching,” thought Balthazar.

[Arsenus the Summonner](Worgen Boss)

Level 5;

HP:2000

”How dare the worgen use, my family's heirloom as a medium for their ungodly rituals,” shouted Elias as he ran towards the worgen summoner. The worgen seemed to be completely involved in the ritual and didn't notice till Elias hit him.

”Quest updated: Rotar's Request: Help Elias Rotar stop the ritual to open the gate to the Wolhiem kingdom, get rid of the worgen menace and take back the heirloom shield.”

With hardly any other option left, Balthazar went after Elias towards the worgen which was in the middle of a ritual. It was definitely a good option to attack the mage while in middle of the ritual.

As soon as Elias hit Arsenus, a shockwave emanated from Arsenus. It blew back both Elias and Balthazar into the walls of the enclosure.