by Ryan Rimmel
“Why didn’t you yell out ‘mine’?” I called back, dodging the flame bolts. The bolts appeared to be aimed, rather than targeted. I threw a dagger at Mucky’Puck as she was forming the targeted void spell. A targeted spell would hit me, but I could interpose my sword with the spell to protect myself against horrific damage.
The flame bolts continued to sizzle past me as my dagger hit Mucky’Puck in her shoulder. Casting spells is hard, doing so with a dagger in your shoulder is considerably harder. She lost the spell; it literally fell apart in her hands. She shrieked from the painful magical backlash.
I turned toward the flame casting goblin, even as I heard the ‘cute’ one beginning to chant. She had three flaming orbs surrounding her. I generated a fire barrier with my right hand and drew my spare shortsword with my left. If I lost this sword, I would officially be out. I didn’t see where the other swords had fallen, either.
I finished closing on her right as she yelled her word of power. She dodged to the side ineffectively, as I drove my blade into her chest. Her fire orbs had already been cast, though, and the magic didn't care that the caster was wounded. The orbs went to my back and sides, detonating in unison. I’d moved my right arm to the side, catching one orb with the barrier. That orb disintegrated.
The other two orbs roasted me.
Grendal’s Exploding Grenades: Fire (Conjuration) spell. Damage 20-30, Targeted, Autonomous, Readied. Complex Spell. Cost, 16 Mana per Orb.
It was a spell designed to get around barriers. The caster summoned the orbs, which would stick around for a minute while a target was selected. The orbs would then surround the target and explode, hitting them from multiple sides all at once. Chances were good that a barrier wouldn’t be able to catch them all.
My barrier hadn’t been able to get them all. My left side was on fire, literally. Fire spells could do that. The pain was bad, but tolerable. However, my hit point totals were starting to run down. I’d begun the fight with my full complement of 320 hit points. I was now under 100.
Wasn’t there an orb behind me?
I looked behind me, only to find Shart. The demon had leaned down to cover my back. He was fireproof, so the flaming orb hadn’t done anything to him. That little asshole had saved me from another 30 points of Damage.
“Thanks,” I muttered, as the flame sister formed a short blade that was made entirely out of fire. It took skill to wield such a blade. I was going to have to kill her.
“Thank me later! Kill Grendal and get the one you have the hots for,” cried Shart.
I executed Hack and Slash. It allowed me to strike twice in rapid succession with a single blade. If someone was good at parrying, they could deflect both. Grendal was not good. My first strike, due to the power behind it, drove her own blade into her chest. My second strike slammed into her temple, driving the blade deeply into her skull. Both her eyeballs popped out, as blood oozed from every orifice on her face. She coughed, spitting up thick blood and bile.
“NOOOOO,” screamed Mucky’Puck, already ready with another spell. She cast, and the orb rocketed directly toward me. I yanked my shortsword around, but it was still embedded in Grendal’s head. The void orb struck the dying goblin.
Her few remaining hit points weren’t enough. The void orb hit, disintegrating both Grendal and my sword. The weapon’s hilt evaporated in my hand. I fell to the dirt. The cracks at the mine’s entrance were becoming positively large now.
Mucky’Puck screamed again, clutching her hands to her face. Grendal might have survived, if not for Mucky’Puck’s void spell. Probably not, but the unknown would haunt her for the rest of her life. The ‘cute’ sister was still casting her nature spell, which would probably be finished soon. I was out of weapons, until I saw a stick.
Jim and his stick.
I grabbed the stick and ran forward. The nature casting sister was holding her hands up, preparing to cast the spell. An impressive amount of natural energy flowed around her. I received a quick prompt telling me that my one Force point had been recovered. I prepared to Lunge, just as she finished the spell.
A massive golem grew before me. He continued to grow from earth and vines, until he stood at nearly 30 feet tall. He had eyes made of rubies, and two massive tree stumps for feet. He was certainly not graceful or pretty, but he did look powerful. His stance was too wide, though.
I Lunged between his legs, kicking off from a pile of vines. I was headed straight for the nature sister. I decided she wasn’t very cute anymore, given her savage look of satisfaction. Her barrier shot up, and my Unavoidable Attack ran into another of the world’s
As my hand continued toward the barrier, I waited for it, too, to splatter. It didn’t. My hand slipped by effortlessly. It was most unfortunate that I wasn’t holding a weapon.
She stared at my now weaponless hand for an instant. I like to think that she realized that even with a stick, I would have done horrible Damage. I stared at my hand, because it had stopped. I really didn’t want it to. I really wanted to punch her in the face. I didn’t normally advocate for violence against women, but, given the circumstances, I felt it would have been forgivable. She was using magic in an attempt to kill me with a 30 foot giant. She had also caused most of my Damage, so far.
She opened her mouth to yell something, so I stepped forward and grabbed her by the face. She bit down hard on my palm, but my Resistance Perk made my skin as tough as leather. She couldn’t do any real harm. The golem’s orders apparently included a generic ‘defend the caster’ requirement, as he was now turning around to face me. He reached down with a huge, log-sized arm.
I did the only thing I could think of.
We were still pretty close to the slope. I twisted myself around once, like a shot put thrower, and tossed her over the slope. She screamed as she flew over the incline. All her noise was followed by a splash, as she landed in the filthy quarry water below.
The golem looked at me for a moment, but, with the threat to his caster gone, he decided to wait. Then, I saw it. The cauldron was at the golem’s legs. When had she hidden it again?
“She drained the cauldron’s spell there to cast the golem,” called Shart.
“They need that spell to siege the town,” I replied.
“If they kill you, do you think the town is going to keep fighting?” Shart asked.
Oh, shit, those sisters really hate my guts.
I glanced over at the mess that was Mucky’Puck. Probably more so now. Then, I saw the series of cracks at the mine’s entrance go from large to dangerous looking. Not as much as they will in a few seconds.
The golem decided I was too close to the cauldron and took a swing at me. I leapt back, still trying to figure out what to do. An instant later, 40 arrow shafts simultaneously struck his head.
I’d totally forgotten about everyone else.
Fenris knew there was a problem when it was revealed that the Mercenaries had inadvertently stolen a log. The Woodsman had defied his orders and moved the militia toward the mine. They quickly came into range of the golem, killing all the goblins in their path. SueLeeta had assisted. Zorlando had realized he’d been tricked too late to correct the problem, but he still managed to turn his forces around. The Mercenaries provided cover for our archers from the handful of goblins that were stupid enough to try a charge. The bulk of the goblin force was concentrated toward the mine entrance. They had vacated the battle area being occupied by Shadow Goblins, Weird Sisters, and me.
That only left the 30 foot tall Golem between our forces and the cauldron.
Nature Golem
HP: 878/900
Stamina: 600/600
Mana: 99/100
Perk: Tree’s Fortitude
Perk: Bark Skin
As it turned out, a tree-man was really strong against arrows. Of that entire volley, only SueLeeta had done any Damage. That small amount of Damage was due to her fire arrow.
I glanced around but didn’t see any large fires that we could weaponize.
“Shart, I need you to do something,” I stated. The demon got very quiet.
“No,” he responded.
“I need you to put that cauldron into your extradimensional space after I create a distraction,” I continued, working the magic of my most powerful offensive spell.
“That thing is huge. I’d tear if I tried,” argued the demon.
I grinned. “You got this. I believe in you!”
“Fuck you,” said the demon, as I grabbed him off my shoulder. I flung him straight into the cauldron. More accurately, I bounced him off the crotch of the golem into the cauldron.
Rank up, Dodgeball. You are rank Initiate. You can now bounce a ball off 2 separate objects.
I wondered what else I could throw Shart against for experience.
Those were thoughts for later, though.
The golem, for his part, didn’t realize what had happened. His skin was too thick to feel an invisible demon bouncing off his crotch until it was too late. Shart hit the bottom of the pot with a mighty clang.
“I would have thought that the soup would splatter everywhere,” stated Badgelor, as his head popped out of the dirt.
I glanced back at the mine entrance. “Aren’t you supposed to be somewhere?”
“The shaft collapsed a while ago,” stated the badger, licking off his paw. More arrows, including SueLeeta’s flaming arrow, struck the golem.
“I’ve been stalling to give you more time. I’m getting killed out here,” I groaned.
“That seems to be more of a you problem than a me problem,” replied the badger.
“Just get the cauldron down the hill. The Shadow Goblins are coming,” I ordered. I could see them rallying around the smelting shed.
Badgelor grinned and started running toward the cauldron at full speed. The golem picked up his foot to crush the small creature, so I cast my Fire Bolt spell at his head. The spell was enough to momentarily blind the massive monster, allowing Badgelor to headbutt the cauldron onto its side. Then, the badger kept headbutting it, as swear words echoed from inside the pot. The golem turned to chase him.
“That’s not good,” I said to no one in particular. My familiar and companion were both off playing a very weird game of soccer with a 30 foot fiend. Fortunately, the Shadow Goblins had much the same thought as the golem. They all started racing after the cauldron as well.
The cauldron went down the slope a moment before Badgelor. He tumbled down the hill, curled safely into a little ball. Righting himself, he continued the chase. The golem also attempted to travel down the slope, but at 30 feet, he was too tall to negotiate the incline. However, he was also forced to protect the cauldron by his programming. Thus, he took faithful steps down. He managed two steps, before falling flat on his face. The air was filled with audible, disgusting cracks, as the golem’s body rolled the rest of the way down.
“I’m pretty sure he’s not supposed to bend that way,” I thought to Pot Shart.
“I’m going to throw up,” replied the demon hollowly.
Using the golem as a ramp, I cast another Fire Bolt into a deep crack in his back. The spell caused him to thrash around, which prevented the Shadow Goblins from using him as a ramp as well. Given that I was faster than goblins to begin with, I had ample time to get clear before they could give proper chase. To my surprise, the entire exposed part of the golem was catching fire. His crack must have contained something that was highly flammable.
As I avoided the flames and leapt from the golem, I landed in the near waist deep muck of the quarry. That was a minor issue; I was tall enough and strong enough to muscle through. As I neared the edge, I saw the still thrashing legs of the sister I’d thrown. For a moment, I considered killing her, but I lacked a weapon. I also considered leaving her to her fate, but that seemed unnecessarily cruel.
The idea of dying face first in muck, unable to get yourself free as you slowly suffocated, was hellish.
Ducky’Puck
HP: 27/120
Stamina: 1/60
Mana: 12/200
Perk: Nature Aptitude
Perk: Golem Aptitude
Skill: Nature Magic: Journeyman
Skills: Summoning Magic: Initiate
Skills: Mana Control: Initiate
She was nearly dead anyway. She wouldn’t be any more trouble to us, at least not today. As I moved past, I grabbed her leg and pulled her free with a pop. Her eyes glared at me with hate, but she said nothing. Instead, she went on a bout of coughing and gagging. Given the situation, I don't know what she could have said.
I got to the other side of the fetid pool, only to find a very sick looking Shart. He flashed me a thumbs up from his spot on Badgelor’s back. At that moment, the rest of the mine decided to collapse. A cloud of thick grey smoke and rocks of various sizes erupted from the entrance as the mine fell into itself.
“Let's get out of here,” I stated, running off in the direction of Windfall.
Chapter 68: Two to Go
We retreated to just inside the barrier. We needed to regroup. I found Fenris and SueLeeta talking with Zorlando. The men, Mercenaries and militia, were all sitting around the Forestry Hut. We were temporarily safe, and they deserved a rest. A steady rain began to fall as they chewed healing root and discussed the battle.
The men were huddled around the hut, its overhangs capable of keeping most of them dry. Several lean-tos had been constructed to allow a larger supply of wood to be stored. According to a prompt from OttoSherman, I should have been considering leveling the Forestry Hut up to 2 soon. I guessed he was preparing supplies for me to do so.
In the battle, only three people had died. As far as I was concerned, those were great numbers. Zorlando wasn’t even that upset. Mercenaries dying was part of the job, after all. They had fought Shadow Goblins and not all been brutally butchered. As far as Zorlando was concerned, it had been a great day. Jarra the Healer was dealing with the wounded from the battle. She did not expect the number of casualties to increase.
Badgelor stood on my shoulder. “What is that smell?”
I sniffed but noticed nothing, except the lingering odor of the cauldron. Taking the cauldron had reset the time needed to siege the town to 10 hours. It wasn’t the 12 hours we had hoped for, but it at least gave us a bit more time to plan.
“Looks like they have the Siege skill,” I thought to Shart.
“That is unfortunate,” replied the demon.
After finishing her discussion with Fenris and Zorlando, SueLeeta had found a dry spot under a lean-to. She was sitting alone, her animal friend nowhere to be seen. Other than a few minor wounds, SueLeeta was uninjured. I bet Cat Number Whatever sacrificed himself or herself for her.
“I’m sorry about Cat,” I said, sitting next to her.
“Oh, don’t be. He died well,” she stated casually.
“I figured that you would care more about him than that,” I replied.
She looked at me bug-eyed for a moment. “You’re joking.” She reached her hands down and began casting a Nature spell of some sort. A moment later another cat, named Cat Five, appeared before her.
“He’s a summoned creature,” I said.
“Only Beast Masters have actual animal companions. I could summon anything, and I happen to find cats to be the most useful.”
Well, that isn’t terrible at all.
“You thought she was sending all her pets off on suicide missions,” thought Shart, giggling.
“That’s neat,” I stated. “Please meet me in the Forestry Hut.”
SueLeeta grinned, hopping to her feet. As she walked off toward the hut, she turned and gave me a mischievous wink. I’d never seen someone so happy to be going to a meeting before.
After she was gone, I went to the other side of the hut. There I found Zorlando and Fenris, standing next to a fire.
“Jim,” called out Zorlando, to the obvious chagrin of Fenris. He still didn’t like
my name, but I was too tired and wounded to care at the moment.
“Good work,” I started, walking over to them. Fenris had taken a few minor blows but nothing serious. Zorlando was the least injured, despite being in the thick of the battle.
“One night of rest and we’ll be right as rain,” stated Fenris.
“Good, let’s get out of the rain and discuss our options,” I responded. Fenris and Zorlando nodded, ducking back further behind the lean-to.
“Actually,” I continued, “I was thinking about going into the Forestry Hut.
Zorlando shrugged, but Fenris remained motionless. “I’m not going in there.”
“Why?” I asked, remembering OttoSherman’s planning room. “It's dry, and there is plenty of space.”
“I wouldn’t want to bother OttoSherman’s… tools,” replied Fenris.
“I’m sure he won’t mind you disturbing his axes,” I replied.
“Jim, OttoSherman brings his axe home with him,” replied Fenris calmly. “He has other tools in the Forestry Hut.” The Woodsman looked at me imploringly, as if begging me to understand what he was trying to say.
Zorlando looked intrigued. “This is getting interesting.”
Badgelor sniffed again. “Ohhhhhh, that’s what that smell is.”
“Did you just send SueLeeta into a sex dungeon?” asked Shart. His peals of laughter sounded thunderous in my head.
“You guys get back to town. I’ll catch up later,” I stated, then ran behind the hut. Fenris shrugged and Zorlando looked disappointed, but they gathered their men. I made sure they were on their way before quickly darting around the building. I opened the side door where I’d seen OttoSherman and EdithGretta enter and plan for hours.
