The scolding lost a lot of its heat when she tossed a chunk of raw meat to Fuzzy, who didn’t seem the least bit offended by the name-calling. “Don’t you ever feed this poor fella?”
Allistor shrugged. “He mostly feeds himself. Just a lil while ago he was chewing on some guy’s nose.”
Meg stared at him, then pointed to the door. “Out! All of you, out of my kitchen! Take that snot-eating monstrosity with you!” She picked up a wicked looking fork and flung it past Allistor to stick in the door.
Sam chuckled in the background as Fuzzy snatched up his Fibble and retreated, confused. Allistor stopped near the door. “Nice kitchen, Meg!” he called out before ducking through the door. Now Ramon was laughing too.
“Real original, hero.” Ramon patted Fuzzy’s head to reassure the bear, who was still wondering why Meg was feeding him one moment, then chasing him away the next.
“Hey, I was under fire, had to think fast.” Allistor shrugged.
The two men and bear cub made their way to the dining hall, which was a former hearing room or something. Meg had moved walls, rearranged things as she liked them, attached the kitchen, and was already producing their first big meal. Taking seats at one of the long tables, Allistor spent some quality time with Ramon and Fuzzy. They talked about the library, and any new skill or spell info that Ramon might have discovered. As they spoke, Allistor scratched the bear cub’s ears, under his chin, then had to get on the floor and rub his tummy when the bear rolled onto his back to demand it. That, of course, turned into a wrestling session, which Ramon couldn’t resist getting in on.
When folks started drifting into the room for meal time, they found Allistor and Ramon dive-tackling the bear cub, then rolling around tickling and biting him as he fought back. At one point, Allistor seized the Fibble doll and rolled away. Getting to his feet, he waved the slimy, slobbery thing at Fuzzy. “Got your doll! I’ve kidnapped Fibble, oh no!”
Fuzzy let out a roar, making nearly everyone in the large room jump, and dove after Allistor. Chairs and tables were flung aside as the laughing human used them as obstacles to maintain his lead. Eventually though, the four-legged speed of the bear cub won out, and he managed to extend a paw and trip Allistor. The human fell on his face, and Fuzzy dove atop him, frantically sniffling and snuffling to find his doll, which was buried under his human.
“Gah! Get that wet nose out of my face!” Allistor complained, pushing the bear’s massive head away. Here’s your smelly old doll!” He rolled away, revealing Fuzzy’s prized possession, which the bear snatched up before retreating to a corner, giving Allistor a dirty look the whole time.
When he got to his feet, Allistor immediately noticed two things. The room was half-destroyed, and everyone was staring at him. With a mostly straight face, he said, “Gotta keep him amused or he’ll eat somebody.” and began picking up fallen chairs and placing them at their tables.
Some of the others laughed, but the newer folks looked nervously at Fuzzy.
Dinner was a delightful combination of canid steaks, fresh vegetables from one of the greenhouses, and warm buttered bread that Sam had baked. When most everyone was done eating, Allistor stood and raised his hand. The room fell quiet, and he said, “Thank you all for coming here, for volunteering to fight. I thought I’d give you a little more information on why we’re fighting tomorrow. First, a man named Paul and his followers are holding roughly a hundred prisoners. People they’ve kidnapped during ambushes of foraging and hunting parties, during which they murdered others. And the man we questioned today confirmed they’re blackmailing and abusing some prisoners, executing others. So… we’re going to kill Paul and his people.” He waited as he measured the reaction of his people.
“Any of you who do not wish to fight and potentially kill other humans may back out with my blessing, and no repercussions of any kind. Killing another person should be hard, and shouldn’t be taken lightly. If you want to opt out, see me after this.”
Again, he paused to let people absorb what he’d said.
“After Paul and his people are dealt with, there’s the little matter of a dungeon in the lower levels of the building. We’re going to clear that dungeon and claim the building… along with the billions of klax worth of gold down there. Twenty-five or so of us are going down there. For most of you, the mobs are too high level, and I don’t want to get you killed. So, I’ll ask that you remain above and defend the building from anyone who might get bright ideas about taking it while we’re down there.”
He saw a wave of nodding heads and determined faces. “The gold down there can secure our future for generations. We already have the land, and with those funds we can buy the gear and supplies we need to farm, mine, and even create some manufacturing facilities. Or buy ourselves a resort island and a private space ship to take us there!”
This earned some applause, and a few whistles, most notably from Meg in the back. “But for tonight, let’s relax and enjoy each other’s company!”
He sat down, and Ramon slapped the back of his head. “Oh, shit!” He jumped back to his feet. “Hold on! Hold on! I forgot something.”
The room got quiet again. “When we cleared this building, I received a very rare loot drop.”
Ramon shouted from his seat. “VERY rare!”
Looking sideways at his friend, Allistor continued. “It’s a spell called Dimensional Step that could come in very handy in a variety of situations, especially combat.” He waited for the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ to quiet down, then produced the scroll and held it high. The purple glow had everyone leaning forward with unabashed lust.
“Before you ask, yes. I consulted with Ramon about copying this for everyone, but he tells me it’s a Master level scroll, and beyond our current or near future abilities. So, I thought… well, Ramon thought… it’d be a good idea for all of you to get to see me use it. To make you all very jealous and grumpy!”
He waited for the boos to die down, looking at Ramon. “What was that? No? It’s supposed to raise morale? Okay then! Here we go!” He opened the scroll. A flood of information invaded his brain, making it feel like it was burning and swelling and freezing and shattering all at the same time. He nearly passed out from the pain. When he opened his eyes again, he was on the floor, and about twenty people were gathered around, looking down at him. He took a moment to breathe, letting the pain pass.
As everyone backed up, Amanda held out a hand to help him up. “I watched you absorb that with my Internal Analysis. The amount of those little suckers gathered around you… it was incredible.”
As soon as he was on his feet, he jumped up with arms out and shouted, “Ta-da!”
There was dead silence for a moment, then people began to laugh. A few clapped as he took a bow, and he called out, “Ramon was right! Good for morale!”
Just for fun, he picked a clear spot on the other side of the room, and activated the new spell. Almost faster than he could register, he was standing in his targeted spot. He wobbled a bit, his brain confused by the change in location without apparent motion. It was as if his mind demanded some kind of inertia from the rapid crossing of the room.
Austin was the first to spot him after he disappeared without warning. Pointing to Allistor in his new position, he shouted, “Cool!”
The others all turned their heads, and a roar of exclamations erupted. People surrounded Allistor, reaching out to touch him and confirm he wasn’t an illusion. Enjoying the fun, Allistor picked a spot right behind where Fuzzy was lounging, and cast the spell again. There were more exclamations as he popped out of existence, and people who’d been leaning in to touch him found nothing but empty air. He appeared behind his bear cub and launched a sneak tickle attack, causing Fuzzy to squeal in surprise and jump up.
The drain from the spell was significant. Casting it twice had drained a full third of his mana. He noticed a sort of lethargic feeling from spending that much that fast, but it wasn’t painful. Making a mental note to discuss it with Amanda, an
other idea struck him. She was still standing where she’d helped him up from the floor, so he cast the spell again. Appearing right behind her, he wrapped both arms around her waist and bent to kiss her neck.
“Cut that out! Allistor is around here somewhere, and he might see!” she teased.
“Oh ho! So it’s like that, is it?” He squeezed harder and lifted her off her feet, pretending to bite into her neck Fuzzy-style. She squealed and squirmed, and the crowd whistled and cheered him on.
The rest of the evening was spent talking, laughing, and generally enjoying life. Which was something folks hadn’t gotten to do a lot of in recent months. Allistor spent a little time with the veterans in the group discussing a rough strategy for the coming attack, then released them all to enjoy themselves. As his mana recharged, Allistor played his party trick a few more times, most notably sneaking up behind Meg and tickling her, which earned him an elbow to the face and a broken nose. Sam nearly fell over laughing, then grabbed Meg and swept her into a big showy kiss, saying, “That’s my girl!”
When Sam stood her back on her feet, Meg gave Allistor her sweetest smile. “Never tickle another man’s woman.” Allistor cast a heal on himself, and bowed to Meg, one arm behind his back, the other sweeping outward.
“M’lady, my apologies. Tis a lesson I shall not soon forget!”
*****
Morning came early, and for Allistor earlier than most. He’d asked Nigel to wake him two hours before sunrise. Which prompted Nigel to ask him which sunrise. Allistor hadn’t put a whole lot of thought into the fact that there were two suns now, the dark and the light. He’d just sort of taken it in stride and accepted it as normal.
As soon as he was awake, he’d ordered Nigel to sound a quiet alarm to wake the others. An annoyingly pitched beeping sound echoed through the entire building, effectively waking everyone. Then Allistor announced through Nigel, “We leave in an hour. Those who are joining the fight, be at the gate. It’s only a short walk to our destination, but I want to attack before sunrise.”
He and Amanda donned their gear. During the evening festivities, Lilly had appeared and handed him new leather armor. It was a complete set, and as he Examined it, he saw she’d greatly improved her crafting skill. The thick, scaly leather was somehow still soft and supple, providing protection with minimal loss of mobility. Lilly had said she crafted it from the skin of the dragon’s belly. The dull red color, so dark it was almost black, made him look a little like Vlad the Impaler.
Lord Allistor’s Second Skin
Item Quality: Uncommon
Attributes: Constitution +3, Will Power +3, Strength +2, Stamina +2, Intelligence +1
This 5-piece set includes chest, bracers, gloves, pants, and boots all made from the hide of a fire dragon. In addition to the attribute increases of the individual pieces, wearing the full set provides an additional +1 to both Will Power and Intelligence. The natural heat resistance of the dragon’s skin reduces fire damage by 40%.
Amanda poked him in the gut, breaking him out of his admiration for Lilly’s work. “I know, it’s pretty. But you can admire it more later. You’ve got an attack to lead.”
They descended from their quarters to the main floor, where people were grabbing sandwiches from a long table in the dining area. Taking one for himself, Allistor found it was a bacon and egg sandwich that granted a buff of +2 Constitution for four hours. He joined the crowd as they walked and ate, making their way to the gate.
When it looked like the entire group was gathered, more than a hundred twenty in all, Allistor called out, “Everybody take a knee! Let’s talk for a minute.”
When he was the only one standing, he spoke in a normal voice. “Thank you all again for volunteering. This is going to be a hard day. Not just the fight, but dealing with hostile humans and having to take their lives. But the people we’re going after today are murderers, and worse. They forfeited their lives long before today. So don’t hesitate. If they’re holding a weapon, take them down.” He took a deep breath. “We’ve been told there are about fifty bad guys, and twice that many prisoners. So please be careful not to shoot prisoners, but keep an eye out for enemies who may be hiding among them. We’ll sort out who’s who after the battle.”
Looking around at all the faces, he added, “Every single one of you is important to me. My brothers and sisters. I would give my life for any one of you. You are the future of the human race, and I will give my all to make sure that future is secure. I hope you all feel the same.” There was a cheer as people raised fists in the air. “Remember to watch out for each other. You all have heal spells, so use them. If you have a choice to save one of ours or shoot one of theirs, drop your weapon and heal. Someone else can do the shooting for a moment. The most important thing here is that we all get through this day alive. Even if it means we don’t accomplish our goal. Live to fight another day.”
He looked into the eyes of as many faces as he could while he spoke, trying his best to convey the truth of his words.
Attribute Increase! Your Charisma attribute has increased by +1
“Alright folks, be safe, shoot straight, and let’s kick some ass! Nigel, open the gates!”
The crowd got to their feet, cheering. Allistor was concerned that their enemy would have heard the noise, but there was nothing they could do about it now. He was sure Paul would have some scouts out watching for any attack. He hoped that all Paul’s people had been up all night, sweating each minute in anticipation of an assault.
As they walked through the park toward the courthouse and the mint beyond, Allistor sent out party invites to a dozen of his people, and designated them lieutenants. The airmen had been exploring the party system, and discovered that large raids could be formed using ranks and sub-groups of up to battalion strength. The main requirement was that the leader be a higher level than the sub-leaders, and they be higher level than their underlings, and so on. The lieutenants in turn sent out invites to as many as ten fighters, until everyone was grouped up. Allistor could track his people on the map, and they had radios to send and receive orders and updates courtesy of Bjurstrom and his guys. Each unit of five to ten fighters would move and fight independently, but in coordination with the other groups. Allistor had relied heavily on the experienced fighters to work out the best way to organize the attack.
Rounding the courthouse, they encountered the first of the scouts. A shot rang out, Goodrich cursed as a round struck his flak jacket and knocked him down. Most of the others crouched down in reaction to the shot, except Logan. He’d seen the muzzle flash, and immediately raised his rifle and returned fire. Sam was right behind him, following Logan’s gaze and identifying the target. His shot put an end to the scout, signified by the flash of a small amount of experience points on everyone’s interface.
The group spread out a little as they continued on, aware that their enemy was now alerted to their presence. Only a block away now, they began to separate and surround the building. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the massive edifice Allistor had pictured. The above-ground part of it was an unassuming two-story stone building with a multitude of small windows along both floors. Which was unfortunate, as that meant there were plenty of firing positions for the defenders inside the structure.
Four of Allistor’s groups were sniper teams, with three shooters in each, a designated healer, and the balance providing cover. As his people spread out, the teams each took one side of the building, and did what they could to get to high ground. Fire escapes, knotted ropes with hooks, whatever means they could find to get atop nearby buildings. The remaining groups surrounded the building, taking cover behind trees, cars, and some dumpsters they pushed out of alleys. One advantage to being out in big sky country was that a higher than normal percentage of the people learned to shoot growing up. A lot of families hunted for sport, or to put some additional meat on the table. As a result, every single one of Allistor’s volunteers were experienced shooters who generally hit what they were aiming at. The downsi
de was that the people who’d be shooting back at them were likely just as good.
Meg brought up the rear with the Humvee, the .50 cal still mounted to the roof. Sam and Logan joined her as she parked it behind a pickup truck across the street from the building’s main entrance. The two men had worked out some kind of agreement as to who would get to shoot the big gun. Allistor hadn’t asked for details. He’d just informed them of the prisoners being held on the second floor, and asked them not to strafe that floor with the massive penetrating rounds.
Allistor climbed into the bed of the pickup Meg had parked behind, and shouted toward the building.
“Paul! My name is Allistor! I’m here for two reasons. First, I’m here to kill you! Your cowardly attacks and murders stop now! Second, I’m here to free the people you’ve taken prisoner and abused. And once they’re free, I’m going to clear the dungeon you couldn’t clear. I guess that’s three reasons. I’m here for three reasons!” He grinned, and his people within earshot chuckled or rolled their eyes.
Nobody inside the building laughed.
“Come on out, Paul! You’re outnumbered almost three to one, and we have you surrounded. If you release your prisoners and surrender, you’ll receive a trial. If we have to come in there and get you… well, it’s gonna hurt. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Go away!” a man’s voice shouted from one of the second-floor windows. “This place is mine! You won’t take it without losing half your people! And I’ll kill every prisoner in here before I let you take it!”
“Show yourself, you coward!” Meg shouted. “They told me you have no balls, seems like they might be right!” Sam blew her a kiss.
“Screw you! You’ll just shoot me. You have one minute to leave, or I start killing hostages!”
Allistor growled. “Paul, listen to me carefully. You harm one hostage, and I’ll kill you slower than any human has ever died. I’ll cut parts off of you, then heal you, then do it again. I’m talking small parts! You’ll die an inch at a time. Your people too! If you’re listening, don’t let that asshole make you suffer! Put down your weapons and come outside, and you’ll get a trial. You’ll get a chance to speak for yourselves. But if even one prisoner is hurt, or we have to come in and get you, it’s gonna end badly for you!”
Shadow Sun Expansion Page 19
