By the time it had come to an end, Kuro was resting her hand on his stomach, her fingers intertwined with Becky’s. Not wanting the moment to be over, Alvin got the system to put on another episode of Firefly.
At the end of the episode with Jubal Early spinning in space, Kuro left the bed, much to Alvin’s dismay. He had started to enjoy having her there. Becky got her settled into her cage before rejoining him on the bed. They shared a few more minutes commiserating over how sad it was that the program had only run a single season, then eventually found sleep.
Waking after what seemed like only a short time, Alvin slipped from bed. When he came back from the bathroom, he saw Kuro was next to the door of her cage.
“Will you let me out please, Hero?” she asked softly.
Kneeling down and opening the bolt, Alvin smiled at her. “I’ve told you before, you can call me Al.”
“Yes, but Gothy calls you Hero, and I think it fits you after all.” Not saying anything more, she got up and walked to the bathroom.
Alvin shook his head as he watched her go. “Great, we all have nicknames.” Chuckling, he got to his feet and saw Becky blinking at him. “Morning, sunshine.”
“Time to get up already?” Becky muttered as she swung her legs out of bed.
“Jarvis hasn’t—” Alvin began before a knock interrupted him.
“Sir, I’m beginning breakfast,” Jarvis announced.
“I stand corrected,” Alvin chuckled.
“Looks like you dangle corrected,” Becky snickered as she headed for the bathroom.
Alvin summoned his clothing to him and left the room, shaking his head. I’ll pay you back for that one later, Gothy.
“Morning, Jarvis,” Alvin greeted the butler. “What are you planning on today?”
Looking slightly surprised, Jarvis took a moment to reply. “I was considering making the strawberry shortcake French toast again, sir. I can apply the flat stat increase to that, which seems like the best idea at the moment, as we have no idea what today is going to look like.”
“Sounds good,” Alvin said, stepping into the kitchen. “Can I assist?”
“Not as such, sir,” Jarvis said slowly. “If you would, you can prepare coffee and get a pot of water on the boil for my tea.”
“Well, at least it’s something,” Alvin shrugged.
Becky and Kuro walked out of the bedroom in their base clothing just as Alvin left the kitchen area, waiting for the coffee to brew. “What’s on the menu?” Becky asked.
“Strawberry French toast,” Alvin said. “How about you guys go sell some loot off?” He handed Becky the loot from the two Elves they had killed the previous day. “It’s not much, but every little bit will help. I have a feeling we’ll be getting more XP soon.”
“Come on Mousie, we can see about getting you a few more outfits,” Becky said. “I think this one distracts Hero a bit too much.” Giving Alvin a wink to let him know she was kidding, she led Kuro to the kiosk room.
When they returned, Alvin was filling coffee cups. They were both dressed in leggings and t-shirts. Kuro’s shirt read, “Property of A.L.L. R.A.W.” like an old athletic equipment shirt, and Becky’s shirt had the same logo that Alvin’s did.
“Why didn’t Mousie get a matching shirt?” Alvin asked, smiling at them both.
“She has one, but I wanted you to see this one first,” Becky giggled.
“I’m fine with either shirt,” Kuro said, taking her seat and pouring cream into her cup. “Both of them have meaning,” she added as she stirred in some sugar.
“Fair enough,” Alvin smiled.
“What about you?” Becky asked as she doctored her own cup of coffee. “Going to grab a secondary outfit?”
“I’ll be right back,” Alvin said.
Coming back from the kiosk room a few minutes later, he watched Becky read his shirt before starting to laugh. “Really?”
“I thought it fitting,” Alvin said, brushing imaginary lint off his shirt that read, “Sharing is caring.” Along with the shirt, he also had a blue pair of running shorts on.
“Asshole,” Becky giggled. “I like it.”
“Figured you would,” Alvin smirked as he took his seat at the table. “How’s breakfast coming along, Jarvis?”
“Steadily, sir,” Jarvis replied, his tone distracted.
“Calling his name pulls him from the crafting state, remember?” Becky said.
“I’m hungry,” Alvin shrugged.
“He’ll get it done as quick as he can,” Becky chided him. “Mousie,” Becky said, turning to her, “what do you think we’re going to hear from Wintersbreath today?”
“A report of the disposition of the army, casualty reports, a breakdown of what they’ve faced already, and possibly what any scouts have found.”
“What history do you know about these Death Woods?” Alvin asked.
“Necromancy is outlawed. The few who escaped the purge fled into the woods and it’s been their bastion for ages. They send their creations out of the woods to attack the towns bordering it at irregular intervals.”
“Undead; that’s kind of our bread and butter,” Alvin said. “Necromancers will be different, though.”
“We have a number of glyphs. We should all equip one to our accessory slots,” Becky added.
Alvin passed around some of the barrier glyphs, making sure they all had a few on them. Putting one into his accessory slot, Alvin wondered about how to trigger the glyph, and a pop up asking if he wanted to use his barrier appeared before him. Selecting no, Alvin nodded. “If you want to use it, just think about it.”
“Breakfast,” Jarvis announced.
“Thank gods,” Alvin said as he refilled his coffee cup.
Breakfast was as delicious as it had been the first time. Once they had taken care of any last minute bits, they were all ready to go. Alvin had Kuro go through the portal back into the room, as he had barred the door last night. He and Becky took the vehicles out of the base and parked them in the stable yard.
A handful of armored guards were waiting for them. “Champion Wintersbreath has been awaiting your arrival,” the one wearing Sergeant insignia told them.
“Let’s go see what we’ve gotten ourselves into,” Alvin said.
Kuro was talking with another Sergeant when they went inside. “Matriarch, they say that Wintersbreath is in the private dining room waiting for us,” Kuro told Becky.
“Let’s not keep her waiting,” Becky said, motioning Kuro ahead of her.
The Sergeant that Kuro had been talking to led them down a short hall to a set of sliding double doors. A single knock was quickly followed by the command to enter. Opening both doors, the Sergeant stepped aside before closing them after the group.
“Your vehicles were gone and no one answered your door,” Wintersbreath said without preamble. “It was difficult to wait for you to show up. There was speculation that you had decided to leave.”
“We have a deal in place with the Queen,” Alvin said, brushing the worry aside.
“You do indeed,” Wintersbreath said, meeting his eyes. “I’m to work with you to make sure the threat is dealt with. To that end, I have compiled reports from the three towns that border the woods. Over the last week, creatures have begun to attack. Slowly at first, but now with steadily increasing numbers and ferocity.”
“Any clear indication of what kind of undead we’re facing?” Becky asked.
“Bodies vanish now after they are looted… that is making it difficult to track some things. I have solid reports of undead wulnines, grezles, and falunes.”
“What kind of animals are those?” Alvin asked.
After a quick explanation from Kuro, Alvin thought of them as wolves, bears, and cougars, or at least very similar. After she finished, Wintersbreath leaned forward, expressing a seriousness they hadn’t seen from her before.
“There was also a brief sighting of a grey robe at the wood’s edge yesterday,” Wintersbreath grimly stated.
“A necromancer,” Kuro shivered as she explained to Becky and Alvin.
“Hmm… what can the necromancers do?” Alvin asked.
“Incite rage in the undead. They become stronger and faster, and are even harder to put down. Further,” Wintersbreath seemed uncomfortable saying what she was about to, “it is said that their mere presence can reanimate the dead.”
“Well, this sounds like a bucket of laughs,” Alvin sighed.
“Champion, they come!” a voice yelled from beyond the closed doors.
Chapter Thirty-three
Wintersbreath was on her feet and headed for the door, with the others following. Alvin muttered under his breath, “Start the Humvee, and bring her around front,” as they left the inn. He heard Becky asking Ruffian to do the same.
Outside, Wintersbreath’s small squad was formed up and waiting for her when both vehicles came around the side of the building. “Are the others already on the walls?”
“They are, Champion,” the Sergeant replied.
“Let’s go! We’ll be helping plug any gap that occurs,” Wintersbreath said as she began to jog toward the west wall of the town.
“Wintersbreath, we’ll need the gate opened when I get there,” Alvin said.
Not giving any indication that she heard him, Wintersbreath continued toward the walls.
“All of us in the Humvee?” Becky asked. “Since Jarvis can’t gun it anymore?”
“Good idea,” Alvin nodded, “but Kuro might be best suited for helping them on the wall.”
“I will do so, if that is your order,” Kuro said, looking to Becky.
“Ruffian, take Mousie to the wall,” Becky said as she opened the Humvee’s door. “Stay safe, Mousie. We can heal you, but I’d rather you not lose your Extra Life.”
“I will do my best to kill while staying alive, Matriarch.”
As she got into the Humvee, Becky glanced at Kuro while Alvin drove them toward the gates. “She’ll be fine,” Alvin said softly. “She takes your orders as gospel.”
“I know,” Becky said, taking her eyes off Kuro climbing into the Mustang. “I just won’t be there to help if things get really bad.”
“We’ll keep them from getting really bad,” Alvin said as they passed Wintersbreath and the squad. A flash of motion caught his eye in the mirror, Wintersbreath darting for the back of the Humvee as they went past. “I think we have a passenger.”
They approached the gate, Alvin slowing as the guards stationed nearby made no move to open it. Alvin started to get out of the vehicle when Wintersbreath went past his door, yelling orders at the guards stationed there.
“I’m glad she’s as agile as she is,” Alvin said. “Looks like she was able to get onto the bumper.”
“That means we’re about to go hot,” Becky said, getting into the back. “Didn’t you say they were going to change how running people over worked?”
“We’re going to find out what they did,” Alvin said as he watched one of the massive gates start swinging open. “Not a lot of room, but I’ll fit,” he muttered, letting the Humvee creep forward.
The gunner’s hatch opened and Becky shifted the sling under her, giving her a more comfortable position to fire from. “Ready to rock,” she called down.
“Let’s do it right,” Alvin chuckled. “Music, ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ as loud as you can get it.”
The opening notes began to play as Alvin drove through the open gate, which started to shut behind him. Taking in the scene before him, Alvin whistled softly. A horde of bears, wolves, and hunting cats were coming out of the woods a half mile away.
“Now this is a party,” Becky laughed as she took aim at the oncoming throng. “Going hot.”
The sounds of the M240B opening up made Alvin focus. “Okay, let’s see what being hit by a Humvee does to mobs now.”
Alvin drove straight on for the horde and aimed for a bear, or a grezle as it was called here. The creature was bigger than a Kodiak, and had bits of flesh and one eye missing from it. Just before contact, Alvin pulled the wheel to angle the Humvee, hoping that might reduce the damage the vehicle was about to take.
The creature bounced off the front of the Humvee, sent sprawling into the horde of undead streaming past the vehicle to either side. Not stopping, Alvin angled the Humvee broadside to the oncoming mass of undead, driving down the length while Becky blazed away with the gun. Every mob hit by the vehicle bounced away from it, injured but still moving. The thrown mobs caused tangles where they landed, hindering those around and behind them.
A hundred yards short of the town’s wall, the creatures went from a jog to a sprint. The cats took the lead and sprang at the people atop the wall. Spears with cross braces were brought up, catching the falunes and stopping most of them from making it over. Some of them managed to avoid being hit and made it onto the wall, but most were tossed to the ground.
Alvin turned back toward the town while Becky waited for the machine gun to reload. While she waited for the larger gun to reload, Becky summoned her Tommy gun and fired at some of the closer targets.
The wolf-like creatures made it to the walls and jumped, their paws just catching the top of the fortifications. As they pulled themselves up, the defenders used swords, axes, and shields to knock the creatures down. A majority of the undead animals were sent tumbling back to the ground, but again, some of them made it over the wall.
“What the fuck are the bears going to do?” Alvin wondered as he started to drive parallel to the wall about fifty yards from it. He noticed a dense concentration of the aforementioned mobs all thundering in a herd. Brows wrinkling, he wondered what they were up to when he saw that they were in line with the gates. “Hang on,” Alvin said as he aimed them right at the pack of fur. “Gothy, bears! Break the formation.”
“Got it,” Becky said, willing the now empty Tommy gun into a glove once the M240B finished reloading. The sound of the large gun firing, along with Becky’s occasional bouts of laughter, helped calm Alvin.
Angling in toward the gate, Alvin tried to meet the lead elements of the furry battering rams before they could make it to their target. Just as he was about to hit the group, all the undead in view swelled in size. “Oh, come the fuck on,” Alvin managed to say just before he hit the mob he was aiming for.
The bears went from five feet in height to close to eight feet, their muscles swelling in unison making the already large beasts seem monstrous. The Humvee crunched as bear and metal collided, with the Humvee just barely being the one to influence the other more.
“Holy shit,” Becky yelled as she fired another handful of rounds.
Black blood splashed onto the passenger side of the Humvee as the rounds tore through the bear’s head. Alvin’s teeth started to grind together as he saw the gate coming closer, and realized that the Humvee was now being slid sideways by the sheer mass of the bears. “Brace!” Alvin shouted as he pulled the Humvee out of gear, since the tires weren’t getting enough traction to make a difference. Yanking the brake, Alvin waited for the inevitable.
Becky didn’t let up. The bear’s heads were taller than the Humvee; she had a shooting gallery and used it. With Alvin’s command to brace, she knew they were going to hit the gates or the walls, but she kept firing.
The impact slammed Becky into the pintle mount, her chin connecting with the M240B. Head swimming from the sudden stop, it took Becky a moment to realize one of the grezles was rearing up over the side of the Humvee. Becky triggered her barrier glyph and summoned her Tommy gun back to her hand at the same time.
The grezle’s teeth came down on the barrier and stopped, much to Becky’s relief, because that bite would have taken her head off otherwise. “Hero, you okay?” she asked, firing a burst into the open mouth of the beast chewing on her barrier.
“I’m fine,” Alvin replied with a wince. The Humvee had slid sideways into the stone archway framing the gates, but had slowed the onslaught just enough. The gates cracked under the assault, but had sta
yed closed.
Grunting, Alvin shifted to the passenger side and pushed the window open. Summoning his Type 56, he started firing into the chests of the grezles that were milling around the Humvee. Since the charge hadn’t worked, a few of the beasts hammered at the gates while the rest began slamming their paws into the walls and the Humvee.
The one trying to eat Becky fell back, its head finally disintegrating under her assault. Shifting to the next target, Becky continued trying to thin down the mobs around them. For the two outside the gate, the next few minutes were filled with blood, cordite, and angry growls.
Elven Accord Page 24
