If Walt wasn't missing an eye and the world of pain that came from being sprayed with acidic enzymes and nearly devoured by a young wyvern, and wasn't currently being chased by said wyvern and the murderous Bloodhound riding him, Walt would probably enjoy the sensation of flying.
He was in survival mode and he had trouble thinking straight. It was like that old boxer's adage. Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. Okay, maybe it wasn't that old. Not unless one considered Mike Tyson old. But the saying still stood. All his thoughts were jumbled in his head, lost in a red swirl of pain.
Everyone has a plan until they get a magical arrow through the eye.
It was as if the phrase summoned the next Bloodseeker Arrow. It came streaking from behind, piercing him in the back. The impact threw him forward. He dropped several dozen feet, tumbling mid-air, momentarily losing control of his flight trajectory.
He regained control, stabilizing. But he was hovering, stationary, no longer moving forward. He looked down and saw the glowing arrowhead sticking out of his lower abdomen. That entire side went stiff. Keeping his balance in the air with his core sent waves of agony through his body.
Voidlock
Health Points: 29
The Bloodseeker Arrow disappeared then. Walt looked behind him and saw Jacob racing towards him through the Tennessee sky, the glittering electric blue grid in the background, his astigmatism causing the places where the barrier lines crossed to send streaking diamonds of light across his vision.
That's when the Bloodhound used his Hero Ability. One hand clutching his bow, Nok'Roshar, he put two fingers in his mouth with his other hand and whistled. A red glow pulsed through him and then a shrill cry sounded from below.
An owl emerged from a tree below and flew upwards. It began to change. Its wings grew bigger, increasing in size. The wingspan extending, tripling in length. The color of the feathers darkening from silver to black and red. The rest of its body followed the wings.
Its breast became large and intimidating. Its head ballooned, the beak somehow becoming more razor sharp. The moonlight reflected off it like it was the edge of a razor. The talons becoming deadly grappling hooks. The owl had transformed into one of Jacob's minions.
[Examine]
[Owlthonius Hearteater]
Owlthonius Hearteater. Set: Beast Tamers Bestiary. Minion. Rarity: Rare. The Bloodhound's eyes in the night sky. Can track particularly wily opponents who try to use the darkness of night to their advantage.
Swift Flight.
Talon Strike: 6 Attack, Cooldown: 5 seconds
Health Points: 5
Cost: Beast Tame
Fantastic. Of course he can just create airborne minions.
Then the Bloodhoundd snatched a card out of the air. When he raised his hand again, he was holding an ivory hunting horn.
[Examine]
[Horn of Ligeia]
Horn of Ligeia. Object. Set: The Twelve Lords of the Hunt. Rarity: Legendary. The fabled ivory hunting horn thought lost in the deep wilds of Heartmourne.
Its call summons one of the Twelve Lords of the Hunt.
Cost: 5 Vigor Stones
The Bloodhound raised the horn to his lips and blew on the instrument. A low frequency note sounded across the landscape. It was a mournful sound that filled Walt's heart full of dread. He had no doubt that every creature or person within range of the horn stopped what they were doing to listen, their flesh prickling with goose-bumps and their blood running cold. A gray mist rolled out over the land.
On the rolling field below Grimscale and Jacob, something emerged out of the mist. At first it looked like some new type of monster. But as it came into view, it was revealed to be a large red fox.
And mounted on top was a green-skinned goblin clothed in leather armor and wolf hides. There was a long silver rifle slung over his back, and an assortment of chains and traps hung from the fox's saddle.
[Examine]
[Myrk Trapmaster]
Myrk Trapmaster. Minion. Set: The Twelve Lords of the Hunt. Rarity: Legendary. The infamous goblin huntsman, also known as The Master of Traps. Can catch any adversary on land, sky or sea.
War Whoop: Fires a bolas and net that roots opponent for 1 Turn
Goblin Sniper Rifle: 9 Attack, Cooldown: 30 seconds
Fox Bite: 5 Attack, Cooldown: 5 seconds
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Health Points: 15
Cost: 7 Vigor Stones
Walt, almost passing out from the agony, made himself fly forward and away from his enemies. He clutched his side. Blood dripped out of the jellied mess in his eye socket.
I'm going to die here. I'll never reach Janice. Her and mom will only remember me as a fuck-up who threw away every good opportunity that came his way and pissed his potential away.
"Shut up!" Walt said. He gritted his teeth, addressing the voice in his head. "You shut the fuck up."
Below, Myrk Trapmaster hopped off his fox and pulled out a strange gun that had a wide-rim barrel. The end of the thing looked more like a tuba than a firearm.
"Are you seeing this, Winternath?" Jacob said, talking to his Chat via a Chronico drone. He flashed his filed down teeth at the cam. "I want all of M-District to see this! Your boy is about to take down the NPC Voidlock everyone is getting all wet about! I hope all of you Slaycastfanboys are tuning in! Myrk, root this clown!"
Myrk fired the strange gun. There was a whoomph. A rocket-propelled pair of bolas flew into the night sky, a net shimmering between the spinning objects.
Walt cursed and swerved to the right. Behind him the bolas tracked him, trailing smoke through the sky. He swerved left and still they followed. It didn't look like he was going to be able to dodge them.
If he was going to be caught in a net, then he wanted to make sure he wouldn't crash to the ground where the rest of Jacob's minions could swarm him. He needed to mitigate damage. He needed to not die.
When the bolas reached him, the silver net entangled him. The material cut into his skin like wires. The bolas wrapped around him, thudding into his flesh, rattling his bones. The impact from them was sure to leave bruises.
He fell out of the sky, wrapped in the net. His gambit paid off. He didn't crash to the ground.
Instead, he crashed into a tree. The net caught on the upper branches, and he dangled there like a caterpillar in a cocoon. He gasped. His entire body had become one raw nerve ending. The pain took his breath away.
The gong sounded.
Turn 7
Vigor Stones 7/7
03:00
Begin
Draw?
The three Blood Mirrors hidden across the land procced, draining life from Jacob and transferring it to Walt. Not that it made much of a difference for Walt's Health Pool. He was still in the critical.
Voidlock
Health Points: 29
But Walt double-checked Jacob's Health Pool. Even though his mind was so jumbled and so wracked with pain, his instincts told him that there was an opportunity here. He'd need to see his hand first, though.
Bloodhound
Health Points: 61
Walt drew his hand.
Life Leech
Crucible Configuration
Soulbloom
Priest of the Blazing Shield
Wand of Green Skulls
Chronobite
Blood Mirror
Walt's remaining eye grew wide. Three of the cards were highlighted in his mind. He double-checked the numbers.
It's possible. As long as I can play the cards in this condition.
The Myrk Trapmaster card description said he would be rooted for one turn. Which meant he couldn't move. It didn't mean he couldn't play cards.
He Soultapped right as a thunderous crack came from below.
Myrk Trapmaster had fired his Goblin Sniper Rifle. He had used the back of his fox as a tripod to steady his shot.
The agony from the Soultap combined with the goblin bullet that entered his chest and exploded out of his back made Walt whimper.
Vigor Stones 8/7
Owlthonius attacked him then, his beak trying to peck out his remaining eye. Walt covered his face and the razor-sharp beak bit into his skin. But he was already so injured, already in so much hell, what was more pain?
Voidlock
Health Points: 1
In the distance, a new voice caught his attention. "There he is! Cornered and trapped like all prey inevitably find themselves!"
Katarina was arriving with her Flintlock Blaster. If she shot him once with it, he wouldn't have enough health to make this play work. He'd be dead.
"Shoot the dwarf!" Walt said, hoping his stealthed squad of Deadwood Witches would be close enough to comply.
They were. Katarina cried out in surprise as the Deadwood Witches materialized around her in a crescent and released shrapnel from their bone wands at her.
Grimscale appeared above Walt, descending, its claws reaching for him.
"Slaycast!" Jacob cried out, spittle flying from his pointed teeth. He shook Nok-Roshar above his head. "Witness the defeat of your over-hyped Voidlock!"
Walt had already played his card. It flew from in front of him up into the sky, appearing above Jacob.
Before Grimscale's teeth and talons could find Walt to deliver the final blow, the Crucible Configuration arrived.
A haunting church bell chimed and a portal opened above the Bloodhound. An invisible force lifted him off his mount and he hung cruciform in the sky, immobilized.
He couldn't even turn his head. The muscles and tendons in his neck strained as he tried to speak through stiff lips. "What..."
Cold blue light streamed forth and baroque pieces of interlocking strange metal formed a broken globe around Jacob. Unholy glyphs and ornamental diabolical designs were etched into the pieces.
The puzzle pieces assembled themselves, manacling the Bloodhound to a table in the shape of a cross. The cubes and parts kept shifting into place, rotating and clicking until he was completely walled in on the table. As if he was contained in a coffin where his face and parts of his stomach and chest were still exposed.
Hooks and needles extended from secretive pockets of the configuration, piercing his skin and pulling his flesh back, exposing the muscles and ligaments underneath. The device hummed with energy and Jacob screamed as his outer layer of skin was reconfigured into a mockery of the human form.
There was a pulse of cold light and the Bloodhound was instantly drained of thirty Health Points.
Thirty Health Points which transferred to Walt.
He felt a surge of rejuvenation so he played his next card, Soulbloom. For fifteen Health Points, the card allowed him to play his next spell.
Still stuck in the net, Walt tapped the Life Leech card with his finger. It was the final card in the combo that triggered the Blood Mirrors he had set up.
The card spun in front of him, faster and faster and faster. Beams of red energy shot into the sky from the creek, the forest and the culvert. The triune of Blood Mirror energy formed a malevolently glowing, red triangle in the middle of the Tennessee woodland that could be seen by satellites passing overhead.
The tip of the crimson pyramid was the Life Leech card. It refocused the three beams into one straight at the Bloodhound still trapped within the confines of the Crucible Configuration.
Life Leech itself drained twenty points of health from Jacob. The three mirrors drained another fifteen.
Walt had just nuked Jacob for sixty-five Health Points, obliterating his opponent.
The explosion of energy combined with the disappearance of all the minions on the battleboard resulted in a brilliant light show that played over the hills of Tennessee and the Cumberland Valley.
The net disappeared and Walt fell out of the tree, hitting the ground with a grunt.
The mutilated and withered husk of Jacob Maseria landed in front of him, his hollow face upturned in a permanent rictus. The Slaynami Card gauntlet dormant and encased on his hand like a bad omen.
Congratulations!
You are the Duel Winner!
Glossary
A WORD ON COMBAT:
*Author Note: Please keep in mind, this story is a rough draft. Also, I’m an author first and game designer of a fictional game second. I will work hard to keep the mechanics and stats in check, especially if they are immersion-breaking. But ultimately, the mechanics and card game rules work to serve the story first.
Battleboard Arena: The three-dimensional designated zone where two Duelists duel.
Battleboard Barrier: Three-dimensional grids of blue energy to that define the limits of the Battleboard Arena. It is impossible to pass through the grids. Trying to traverse a barrier results in death. The barriers disappear once a Duel is finished.
Death Cry: Card effect that triggers when a minion dies.
Health Points: A card duelist’s health. Usually starts at 100 Points. When it’s depleted, the duelist dies.
Hellpriest: A priest of an extra-dimensional Hell ruled by the deity, Leviathan. Summon the creatures and powers of Leviathan to punish your opponent into pain and ecstasy. Hero Ability: Heal. Heal self or a minion for 10 Health Points. Cost: 1 Vigor Stone
Hero Ability (aka Psycho Ability): A power or spell a Duelist can use that’s specific to the Duelist’s class. These increase in cost the more they are used throughout a Duel.
Turn: A 3 minute duration split into two parts wherein Duelists can make their moves and play their cards.
Prio: Priority. 1:30 Duration. Duelist who has Prio means they control the segment of the Turn wherein they can play their cards. They have a minute and a half to play their cards. At the end of the duration, Prio passes to their opponent, whether they play a card or not. A Duelist with Prio has the right to pass their segment of the Turn to their opponent.
Pass: Option to pass the Turn to your opponent.
Slaynami Corporation: The mysterious corporation from another version of Earth who owns the rights to the game Slaystone and funds and organizes tournament.
Slaynami Card Gauntlet: A device of advanced and mysterious tech that holds all of the cards for a Duelist. Allows the Duelist to organize cards, build decks and play their cards. It’s linked to the Slaynami System Interface
Slaynami Chronico: A recording and streaming device made from mysterious tech, provided by the Slaynami Corporation to Psycho Slingers for official Slaynami Corp streams.
Slaynami Interface: The UI that allows an individual to interact with the Slaynami System
Slaynami System: Slaynami Corp’s system that connects to an individual and links their mind, brain and body to the designated Slaynami OS. Enhances an individual in various ways, giving them the power of the system at just a thought.
Vigor Stones: The resource used to play cards.
Voidlock: A Darkened Artist who uses the power of souls to tap into unbelievable power. Hero Ability: Soultap. Trade 10 Health Points for 1 Vigor Point. Cost: 10 Health Points.
War Whoop: Effect that’s triggered when a minion arrives on the Battleboard.
Class Compendium
Slaystone ? Class Compendium
Class is the primary factor of a Duelist’s powers and abilities. Each class represents a unique role and determines a Duelist’s Hero Ability and which card sets they are able to use.
There are ten base starting classes that may evolve into more advanced classes by using Psycho Points, Card Gauntlets and Evolver Cocoons. Information on Advanced Classes and the Ultra Slinger and Apex Slinger forms is included in the Slaynami ? Advanced Form Slinger Compendium.
The ten base classes are:
Bloodhound: Tough and resourceful hunters who can track any beast, man or monster through both the wilds and cities. Hero Ability: Tame Beast. Can tame a nearby animal and turn it into a dangerous minion. Cost: 1 Vigor Stone.
Silentblade: Sneaky and agile assassins who use subterfuge and stealth to get intimate with their opponents. Hero Ability: Stealth. Can blend in with the shadows and their surroundings to disappear from sight. Cost: 1 Vigor Stone.
Steelclad: Warriors and sell-swords who use steel and iron weaponry to control the battlefield and armor to soak up otherwise dangerous attacks. Hero Ability: Battle Frenzy. Gains 10 Armor and Enrages, doubling damage with weapons. Cost: 1 Vigor Stone.
Voidlock: A Darkened Artist who uses the potential of souls to tap into unbelievable depths of power. Hero Ability: Soultap. Trade 10 Health Points for 1 Vigor Stone. Cost: 10 Health Points.
Necromancer:As master of the undead, Necromancers have the power to summon an undead army to overwhelm and consume opponents. Hero Ability: Summon a Skeleton Minion. Cost: 1 Vigor Stone.
Thaumuturgist: Practitioners and masters of the Arcane arts. They wield powerful single-target and area of effect spells to blast down their opponents and arcane trickery to manipulate their opponent’s attacks. Hero Ability: Arcane Blast. Arcane energy blasts out of the mage, dealing 10 damage to nearby opponents. Cost: 2 Vigor Stones. 2 extra Vigor Stones per accumulative use.
Cardcleric: Wielders of the White, who use the healing powers of their benevolent Deity to administer purifications, cleanses and mending during times of conflict. Hero Ability: Battle Blaze. Healing blessing that heals self or target for 6 Health and an additional 6 Health Points the next Turn. Cost: 1 Vigor Stone.
Hellpriest: Supplicants and clergy of Leviathan who rules over the Hell dimension. Use Leviathan’s power for both pain and pleasure. Hero Ability: Heal. Heal self or minions for 10 Health Points. Cost: 1 Vigor Stone.
Greenmage: Protectors of Gaia and the verdant wilds, they wield the powers of nature to establish control of the battlefield. Friends of both the trees and the stones, expect both to aid them during times of need. Hero Ability: Friend of the Forest. Summon three Ygdar Ents and root your opponent for 1 Turn or until freed. Cost: 3 Vigor Stones.
Songslinger: The Bard swordsmen of yore. They use music, poetry and theatrics as weapons. A limerick or a well-aimed verbal barb can be just as dangerous as a blade with these raucous and dramatic performers. Hero Ability: Razor Song. A musical attack that turns musical notes into either razor blades or a personal shield. Deals 10 damage. Or Blocks 10 Damage. Cost: 3 Vigor Stones.
Card Codex - Walt's Deck for Duel 3!
WALT''S DECK DUEL 3
versus
Jacob Maseria, Bloodhound, aka HunterX
22 Cards
Soulbloom (15 Health)
Mortal Tentacle (1 Vigor Stone)
Deadwood Witch (1 Vigor Stone)
Blood Mirror (4) (2 Vigor Stones)
Chains of Agony (3 Vigor Stones)
Blood Worm Bomber (3 Vigor Stones)
Levitical Hellfiend (3 Vigor Stones)
Desecrate X (3 Vigor Stones)
Boots of Nemora (4 Vigor Stones)
Eldritch Death Summoner (4 Vigor Stones)
Wand of Green Skulls (4 Vigor Stones)
Unholy Tongue Lash (5 Vigor Stones)
Replicate (5 Vigor Stones)
The Priest of the Blazing Shield (5 Vigor Stones)
Abyssal Blast (7 Vigor Stones)
7-Fingered Ghoul (7 Vigor Stones)
Chronobite (7 Vigor Stones)
Life Leech (8 Vigor Stones)
Crucible Configuration (8 Vigor Stones)
