Allistor saw Lisa’s freeze spell take effect, and she must have been channeling it. The frost fought to cover the beast as plasma impacts thawed it back out. And the top of its head began to melt as if acid had been poured on it. Andrea’s Dissolve spell.
The occulant roared again as the Mind Spike wore off. Blasts of red lasers exploded from the beast’s eyes in every direction. Allistor heard human screams, and shouted into his radio. “Take cover! Fire from cover! Move the wounded!”
He saw two of his party icons go grey out of the corner of his eye as he cast Erupt underneath the occulant’s body. This spell, too, had increased in power with his new levels and buffs. A spike the size of a tall parking cone shot up into the beast’s belly. It screamed and fired, one of the lasers penetrating Allistor’s side and burning straight through. Now it was his turn to scream, and he half dove, half fell behind the crates he’d been moving toward earlier. Prime grabbed him with a free arm while firing with two others, and hurling his staff weapon forward with the fourth. The droid gave him enough momentum to get behind cover.
Just after Allistor lost sight of the monster, the screams began again. And the floor just past the edge of the crate, where they’d been standing a moment before, began to sizzle and bubble under a pool of acid. Amanda shouted, “The green eyes! The green eyes are acid!”
“Healers! Keep them up! Everybody, use your heal spells on yourselves and each other! And keep out of sight! I’ll call for another volley.”
As soon as he was done speaking, there were blue flashes and plasma bolts flew past their crates, some going over the top to splash off the high ceiling.
“Shit! This thing switches weapons so fast.” Allistor said to himself.
“Indeed. They are quite formidable. Which is why they are often used as sentries.” Prime held up one of his upper arms and examined a scorched section. The arm moved slowly, but appeared to still be operational. On a whim, Allistor tried casting a heal on the droid, but it had no effect that he could see.
“I will draw its fire again. My frame is somewhat more resistant to its lasers. I suggest you stun it again, and have your people fire more volleys.
Allistor nodded. “Ten seconds.” Then he spoke into his radio, “Okay, Meg, grenade time. The rest of you, fire in ten seconds. Mark!”
Prime dashed out, firing with both hands. Allistor stuck his head out and cast Erupt again, followed by another Mind Spike. A couple seconds later he saw Meg’s crystal ball grenades shatter against the beast and flames engulf it. Someone else must have cast the Flame Shot before he could get to it. Then, plasma poured into the monster from seemingly everywhere.
Occulant Sentry
Level 30
Elite
Health: 31,700/60,000
Andrea shouted through the radio this time. “It’s about to hit fifty percent health! Everyone move back and take cover! Get out of the room if you can!”
Allistor decided to try Vortex, channeling the spell at the monster. To his horror, once the wind had reached a speed that caused the monster to begin to spin on the axis of the spike in its belly, it also lifted the body of one of the dead. The corpse, belonging to a Texan whose name he didn’t know, was pulled into the vortex, his body crashing into the beast over and over again. Allistor could hear bones breaking, and was nearly sick. He stopped channeling, and the body fell.
He heard someone over the radio whisper, “Damn. That was hardcore.”
The monster reached and surpassed the fifty percent mark during the vortex without activating anything other than its usual attacks. Though now they were less frequent, as more than half of the occulant’s eyes had been destroyed. Prime had taken several hits, and was now limping back toward him. Allistor got an idea, and cast Levitate on the droid. He motioned with his hand and moved him up atop the nearest stack of crates. The general nodded at him, then lay down.
As the last winds from the Vortex spell died down and faded away, Allistor tried Mind Spike again. Whether it was a bad roll from the RNG, or the fact that the creature was already in great pain, the spell failed. He tried Restraint, and it froze mid-scream.
“Fire! Three seconds!” Allistor shouted, and immediately his people each took another shot or two at the thing. He could hear Prime firing with both barrels above him.
Occulant Sentry
Level 30
Elite
Health: 18,600/60,000
Allistor reached into his inventory and pulled out the epic Titan Bow he’d received after killing the void titan. A quiver appeared at his waist, and he immediately seized an arrow. Nocking it and pulling the string with all the strength he had – his physical attributes boosted by the bow – he loosed the titan-bone arrow. It whistled as it flew, impacting the monster and driving it backward. The arrow completely disappeared inside its body. Allistor fired another, then dashed out from behind the crate. The creature spun to focus on him, and he cast Restraint on it again. It froze, and Allistor paused to fire one more arrow before ducking down behind the other crates.
A part of his brain recognized that the crate in front of his face was stamped ‘Gold Bullion’ before he ignored it and shouted, “Fire! Three seconds!”
Prime, whom he could now see clearly atop the other crates, had never stopped firing. His head and shoulders showed several burns, and one of his eyes was damaged. But the determined droid general kept firing and held the thing’s attention.
Another burst of red laser fire erupted in every direction. There were fewer beams this time, but still Allistor heard screams. A quick check showed him there were still only two dead, but several others were very low on health.
All of a sudden, he heard a familiar roar. His bear cub had disobeyed him and decided to join the fight. Horrified, Allistor dashed back out in the open and cast Mind Spike again. He saw his bear cub dash up underneath the monster, grabbing one of the thicker remaining tentacles and biting down. Black blood erupted as Fuzzy continued forward, dragging the tentacle with him. The monster was unbalanced by the bear’s weight, and fell backward to slam into the floor. Fuzzy continued forward, dragging the thing with him even as the humans on either side fired into its body.
Fuzzy put his front feet on the tentacle, pinning it to the floor before giving his head a violent shake. The tentacle ripped free and the creature let out a high-pitched wail. Fuzzy was instantly covered in a torrent of the black blood, having apparently severed a vital artery. The poor bear snorted in disgust and ran toward Allistor.
The occulant tried to right itself using the remaining tentacles, but the movements were weak. Allistor seized the opportunity his bear had created. “Finish it! Everyone fire!”
There was another volley of plasma, and Andrea hit the thing with Dissolve again. A second volley finished the monster off, and everyone in the room except Allistor and Prime leveled up.
Everyone living had their health bars shoot up to a hundred percent, though most were still short a good deal of blood. As everyone emerged from behind cover, he didn’t see anyone without at least a few burn holes in their gear.
Allistor made a quick check of his party roster. The other fatality was Richard from the Stadium Stronghold in Laramie. Searching the room, Allistor spotted Virginia sitting against a wall, holding the man’s body. She was crying and shaking her head, as if denying the man’s death. Allistor went to sit with her, tears forming in his own eyes.
“I’m so sorry.” his voice cracked as he spoke. He’d liked Richard a lot. The man had been instrumental in running things at the Stadium, and been a good guy.
“He pushed me out of the way. I was too slow, and he saved me.” Virginia sobbed. “I’m too old for this, I shouldn’t have been here.”
Amanda knelt in front her and took hold of Richard, pulling him out of Virginia’s grasp and laying him gently on the floor before taking both of her hands. “Lots of us were too slow. You can’t outrun a laser, hun. And thanks to you, eight or nine of these people are still alive. You did an
amazing job healing. Better than Nancy, better than me. You and Richard did that. Saved us all.”
Virginia leaned forward and hugged Amanda as the others tried to give them some privacy. The Texan’s shattered body was gathered up as gently as possible and set down next to Richard. Allistor sought out the other Texan, who was leaning against a crate and checking out the battery pack on his rifle.
Approaching the man, he shook his head. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t intend for the vortex to pull him up like that. I couldn’t see his body, and didn’t know he was that close.”
The Texan nodded once. “Fool got hisself killed in the first few seconds of the fight. Charged right at the damn thing. As for the vortex, I think he woulda laughed at that. Been happy that his dead body did some damage to the thing, and did a pretty good job interruptin’ it too.” The man winked at him, and Allistor felt a weight lift off of him.
“You guys were from the same Stronghold, right? We can arrange for you to take his body home.”
“Nah. I mean, yes, we was from the same place. But he wouldn’t want me to tote him all the way back. We’ll burn him here with your fella, and I’ll take his hat and boots home. He had a girl back there that might want ‘em.”
“He was married?” Allistor was surprised.
“Nope. Just met her a few months back. Since the world ended, relationships seem to move a mite faster, ya know? Dunno how serious they were.”
“Well, you’ve both earned your Stronghold a great deal of money. The weapons and other resources you can buy…” Allistor didn’t finish the thought as the man shook his head.
“Not yet we ain’t. There’s more stairs goin’ down, and my bet is there’s more critters to kill before we’re done.”
Allistor’s mouth dropped open and he immediately opened his interface and tried to claim the building. He got the dreaded message about previous occupants.
“Well, shit. You’re right.” He put a hand on the man’s shoulder, then turned to face the others. “Seems we’re not done here, folks. There are more monsters to kill. Sam, Lars, Logan, take Fuzzy and check out every inch of this floor. They’re probably downstairs, but let’s make sure. And let’s hope it’s something easy like a rat nesting under a desk or something.” He waited while they corralled Fuzzy, who was rubbing his nose on the floor trying to get rid of the creature’s blood.
“Loot the monster before you go. That goes for the rest of you, too. And those who aren’t with Fuzzy, break open these crates. I want each of you to take a hundred gold bars and put them in your belt storage. If this thing was just the mini-boss, I’m afraid to think what might be downstairs. Let’s load up in case this is all we can get. If there’s still gold left after each of you takes a hundred, we’ll see about the rest.
Allistor looted the occulant, then went back to join Amanda and Virginia as the sound of splintering wood echoed through the room. Amanda was sitting next to the older woman, holding her hand and speaking quietly to her. Allistor took a seat next to Amanda and quickly reviewed his loot notifications.
He’d received ten thousand klax, a nondescript scroll that didn’t glow purple or orange, some occulant meat, which he quickly dumped on the floor, and an item that did glow, this time with a golden light.
Occulant Sentry Elite Power Core
There was no description beyond that. Allistor assumed it was some kind of crafting ingredient or something, and ignored it.
A moment later Prime approached and stood in front of Allistor. “My condolences on your losses, Sire. Are you in need of medical attention?”
Allistor saw the multiple burn scars on his own gear. “No, thank you General Prime. I’m fully healed. And thank you as well for saving me. At least three times during that fight that I can recall. Probably a couple more I didn’t notice. Are you in need of attention?”
The general’s body was scorched in dozens of places, and his one arm hung at an improper angle compared to the others. “I am in need of repairs, yes. But I am still at eighty percent operational capability. If there is more fighting to be done, I am ready.”
“How do we repair you?” Amanda asked, and Virginia looked up with some curiosity as well.
“I am capable of self-repair, Lady Amanda. There are parts in the pack on my back. I would need approximately ten minutes to effect proper repairs to most of my damaged systems.”
“Go right ahead, General. We can wait ten minutes if it means you’ll be back at full fighting strength.”
“Thank you, Sire. I shall begin immediately.” Prime turned and walked a few paces away, then sat down and used three of his arms to remove his pack. Allistor intended to watch the repairs, but he was distracted by the sound of plasma rifle fire, and a roar from Fuzzy, outside the room somewhere.
He’d just gotten to his feet and was running for the door when Sam’s voice came across the radio. “Found one of them octopoid things in the stairwell. It’s dead. Maybe that was the last one?”
Allistor quickly checked his interface again, and tried to claim the Stronghold. This time, the button was green.
“YYYESSS!” he shouted, surprising everyone in his party. He clicked on the button, and the world around them went golden. He didn’t waste time with frills, just leaving the building the way it was. He added the usual utilities, greenhouse, walls, and gate. Then he selected a shield dome, several plasma cannons and anti-aircraft guns, and placed the teleport pad he’d purchased just to one side of the gate. When all of that was done, he named it Fort Knox and finished the process.
When the light faded, there were cheers from the group. Allistor quieted them down after a minute, and then said, “Nigel, can you get me Redd in the radio room? And put us on loudspeaker? In every one of our facilities, please.”
“Of course, Sire. One moment.”
Almost immediately Redd’s voice came across, echoing from everywhere in the room. “I’m here boss. Everything okay?”
“Everything’s great, Redd. We killed the monster. I need you to get the other Stronghold leaders on the line. The ones whose volunteers are here with us.”
“Already on, boss. We’ve been talking a while, waiting to hear from you. Hold on, I’ll patch you in.” There was silence, then some clicking and static as she patched him in. “Go ahead, Sire.” Allistor smiled at the change in title from boss.
“This is Allistor. I am pleased to announce that we have defeated the elite occulant and taken control of Fort Knox. Though we lost a couple of heroes in the fight, their sacrifice helped ensure our victory, and a more secure future for everyone who can hear this message.”
He paused while the cheers and congratulations echoed through the room. When they had died down, he continued.
“As promised, each of the nine groups, plus my own, will receive an equal share of the gold. For all the Strongholds in Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Michigan, Virginia, and Pennsylvania that participated, and our two allies in Denver, that means about seventeen and a half billion klax worth of gold. Maybe a little less, as I’m guessing the market is about to be flooded and the price per ounce will go down.” Again, he waited as those on the radio and those in the room reacted.
“Since we were successful, I’m going to share some information with all of you. First, I suggest you spend some gold immediately on a teleport hub, once Stabilization ends, and a few extra pads if you have more than one Stronghold. This will allow you to move your people from place to place instantly, and make it much easier for me to transport your gold to you. Second, my people can walk you through how to purchase shield domes, cannons, and other defensive weapons to protect your properties before the aliens come tomorrow night.
I’m going to send each of your people home this afternoon with a half billion in gold. That is enough to buy the items I just listed. The moment you have your teleport pads set up, we can quickly ship you the rest, though I’m going to need you to send people to retrieve it. I suggest you also purchase a couple of the industrial sized hover pads for
moving that much weight. It’ll take several days to move this much gold, even with the teleporters.”
Pausing to think for a moment, he decided to go all in. “I will be stationing two thousand battle droids here at Fort Knox, both to defend this place from invaders and to assist your people in moving the gold. I suggest you all look into purchasing some as well. Yesterday, I established a new Stronghold out on the west coast. Starting tomorrow, we’ll be operating a small fishing fleet. For those of you who have teleport capability, in a few days there will be fresh fish on the menu. Assuming we’re not at all-out war with the aliens.”
Unable to think of anything else to say, he brought things to a close. “I want to thank all of you for your support in this endeavor, and for your determination to survive the last year. We’ll be dropping off your people as quickly as possible. I’ll remain here to coordinate further distribution of your gold. Have a great day.”
He made a cutting motion to Nigel, who disconnected the call. Looking at the Texan, he said, “If you’d like to make a private call home to tell them about your loss, feel free to use one of the rooms in the hall.”
The man nodded. “Thank you. I’ll do that.”
“Before you go, there’s something else I want to say. I meant it when I said you’re all heroes. And you deserve to be rewarded. So everyone here, including the two we lost, will received twenty-one gold bars from our share. That’s about ten million klax for each of you, along with my sincere thanks and admiration.” he announced loud enough for everyone to hear.
There was another round of cheers, and the Texan shook Allistor’s hand before leaving the room. Virginia, back on her feet, hugged Allistor. “I know Richard’s family will appreciate that. I’d like to be the one to give them the news, if you don’t mind?” she said before turning away and wiping at her eyes. She left the room as well, not waiting for him to agree.
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