That would be a colossal mistake. But there was a simple work around—he would just find someone else to collect the thumbs. This turned out to be an easy thing to do seeing as there were hundreds of people who had lost everything to the fires. Roan picked out a man who stood against a building wearing a woman’s housecoat. His eyes were hollow with grief. Next to him were his wife and two daughters. He jumped at Roan’s offer of gold and only paused slightly when Roan explained his sickening task.
The hope in his eyes twinged Roan’s conscience enough that he advised the man: “If anyone asks, tell them you’re being paid for the thumbs.” Desperate as he was, the man went straight away to his task, while Roan watched from within the crowd.
It was a trap after all. It took only seconds before the bounty hunters presented themselves. Not five feet from Roan, a man in robes of deepest red slipped to the edge of the crowd. A little further away, a fighter, judging by his armor and weapons, came around the corner of one of the buildings, a huge two-handed sword held in front of him. Another fighter came from the far side of the street, while two came from the buildings themselves, one from each, climbing from first floor windows.
The man Roan had hired was slow to see them and by the time he did, it was too late. The robed man was a wizard and from his hand a silver line shot out and struck him. He jerked once in a convulsion and flopped forward, his body twitching horribly.
The other bounty hunters started forward when a sixth person leapt from a different window, yelling, “Stop!”
Roan recognized the sweet elven voice, the long, flowing golden hair and the silver flash of her mithral armor. Impossibly, it was Amanda and she was alone, which meant she was within seconds of being killed. The bounty hunters did not stop. They thought that the man flopping on the ground was worth five thousand in gold and they were going to collect.
The wizard was already beginning an incantation, though he had barely uttered a syllable before Roan stuck the magic dagger in his back with such force that the bloody tip protruded his chest. It was a perfectly executed sneak attack(XP +450). The high number of experience points he had received was both welcome and terribly frightening. All Roan could wonder was: What level were these guys?
It really didn’t matter what their level was since he would fight them no matter what to save Amanda.
With their attention on Amanda with her blazing sword and shining armor, no one had noticed Roan kill their wizard and now he angled towards the fighter hoping to slay him with a sneak attack just as he had the wizard. He struck before the fighter knew there was a second enemy and although Roan’s dagger punctured the armor covering the man’s back and drew blood, the fighter seemed hardly fazed.
He spun, fury in his dark eyes. This was the difference between backstabbing unarmored wizards, and trying to take on tanks like the fighter. The fighter was much faster than he looked and slashed at Roan with the huge sword, cutting right through his armor and tearing open his chest(Damage -12HP).
Roan had been halfway killed with a single blow from the sword. At this rate, he realized, the fight was going to be over in fifteen seconds. Unless…Roan pulled the loaded hand crossbow from his belt and shot the fighter, who was so unimpressed by the puny weapon that he didn’t even bother trying to dodge or block the bolt.
It barely scratched his cheek. The man was so tough that he only grinned at the nick before raising his giant sword, looking to cut Roan square in two this time. But he paused on the upswing, his face registering confusion. “What the heh, heh, heh…” he said just before toppling over.
Whatever George Shepp had put on his blade was strong and fast acting and yet the fighter was still not dead. He had the constitution of a bull and Roan guessed he would be up again in seconds. Roan couldn’t chance that and he leapt on the man’s chest before he could recover. Prone as the fighter was, Roan couldn’t miss. The magic dagger went deep into his throat. Roan could feel vessels burst and cartilage tear under hiss blade(XP +300).
Congratulations! You are now a Level Four Rogue and have gained the following bonuses:
Increased Hit Points(+8)
Attack +1
Reflex Saving Throw +1
Special Ability Spirit Dodge: Starting at 4th level, a rogue can react to danger before his senses would normally allow him to do so. The Rogue retains his Dexterity bonus to AC even if caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible opponent.
You have +1 Ability point to allocate
You have +11 skill points to allocate
He was still trying to read the words flashing across his vision when he felt a prickle—it was almost what he would call a touch of precognition. He knew something was about to happen and threw himself to the side. Just as he did, Amanda let loose with a spell.
An explosion of flame, centered on herself, blasted outward, engulfing her three attackers and nearly Roan as well in searing fire. The flames passed over his head by the barest of margins. It was so close that the hair on the back of his neck was singed into a soft ash that fell onto his shoulders as he stood.
Their three opponents had taken the brunt of the damage. One was laid out on the ground, his hair burning, the flesh of his face charred black. One stood, his eyes opening and closing uselessly, his sword swishing weakly out in front of him. And the last, smoke spiraling up from his armor advanced on Amanda, his teeth clenched, his hand reaching for a potion.
She waited on him with such a calm look that Roan decided that she would be fine, at least for the moment, hopefully long enough for Roan to tilt the odds completely in their favor. With the magic dagger, he went after the man who’d been blinded by the spell Amanda had let loose.
He had no idea Roan was coming and the dagger dug a terrific hole in the man’s neck. It was a textbook sneak attack; still he didn’t die. Blood gushed from the wound, but the man was tough as leather and swung his sword with the intent of taking Roan’s head off. The sword came shockingly close to doing just that and only Roan’s quickness allowed him to dodge the blade.
Even partially blind, he was a better fighter than Roan, at least when it came to the parry and thrust of swordsmanship. Roan couldn’t allow his opponent to dictate the fight on his own terms, he had to fight his own fight. This meant taking his opponent to the ground where his sword would be useless and his armor more of a liability than actual protection.
Had the man been able to see properly, Roan would likely have been run through with the blade. By an even closer margin than before, he ducked a swing and then pistoned forward with his strong legs and tackled his enemy, landing on top of him.
Now the man was like a turtle on its back, struggling under the weight of both his own bulky armor and Roan’s two hundred and twenty pounds. The man tried bucking and twisting to dislodge Roan; he tried swatting at him with his sword, though he did so without generating any power behind his swings. He even tried scratching at Roan’s eyes with desperate fingers.
And all the while Roan pummeled his face with sharp downward punches that made the most of his strength and position. Attacking at a +6, it wasn’t long before blood was flowing. In the midst of the fight, Roan glanced up to see Amanda battling the last fighter. She was improbably tiny compared to the man who lumbered about in heavy armor, swinging his sword with broad strokes.
Despite the difference in their sizes, she was remarkably composed. Her attacks were deft and quick, leaving him looking like a bleeding pincushion.
Knowing that she was going to win, Roan was able to concentrate fully on defeating his opponent, who quickly began gasping, “I give up, I give up.”
“Then clock out,” Roan replied, as he continued to pound the man without letup. He had never heard of someone “crying uncle” in the middle of a Daggerland fight. You either won or lost, and in this case the man was going to lose. He knew it, too and did the only thing that made any sense and in the next second, Roan was punching a lifeless body(XP +350).
Roan was caked in the man’s blood and whe
n he stood, he was unrecognizable. Amanda, who had defeated her opponent, bowed to him without taking her eyes from him. “I thank you, kind sir.” There was a note of forced politeness in her voice that Roan understood; there wasn’t much about the city that suggested anyone did anything out of kindness.
A laugh escaped Roan. “Who are you calling sir?” He laughed even harder when recognition caused her blue eyes to bulge wide.
Chapter 18
K Street Territory, Oberast
Amanda didn’t immediately rush into his arms. “Roan? Wha…what are you? Why aren’t you an elf? And who is that?” She pointed to the man who had been zapped by the wizard’s spell.
“Just some guy,” Roan said, not realizing how callous he sounded. “And I’m a thief. I’ll tell you all about what’s going on in a second. First, let’s search these guys.”
She raised a pale eyebrow as he began pulling off rings and cutting pouch strings. He was quick and efficient, while she hadn’t budged. “Come on,” he told her. “We don’t have a lot of time. There could be a whole mess of thugs coming any second and I still need to harvest the thumbs.”
Much to Roan’s annoyance, she stepped back, looking shocked. “I don’t understand. You want to cut their thumbs off?”
“Not these guys. Those other guys.” He pointed to the mangled corpses. “And you don’t understand because I haven’t explained anything yet. Now, please hurry and strip those guys. Not all of us are lucky enough to have all the gold and magic in the world.”
Slowly, she bent to one knee and began frisking the fighter she had killed. She went at it with a look of disgust marring her pretty features. “You’re not acting like your usual self.”
She was right. With her sweetness and purity so close, he could feel how much he had changed. Compared to the other thieves and thugs and mass murderers, he was relatively benign. Compared to her, he was dirt. It didn’t make him feel any better. In fact, it made him bitter. It made him want to question why she was there, though he knew exactly why; she feared for his safety and wanted to protect him.
And strangely that made him angrier. He wasn’t a child, after all. He was a grown man who had proven time and again that he could take care of… Stop! he suddenly screamed inside his own mind. She didn’t do anything wrong.
“Sorry,” he told her. “I’m just a little out of it.” He bent back to the task of collecting the treasure from the dead adventurers, which actually helped his frame of mind since they were downright loaded. He didn’t have time to go through it all, though he wished he could. As he went, he kept a running total in his head: a heavy bag of gold, two magic rings, three scrolls, seven potions, two magic swords, a magic shield and a wand—enough to brighten any thief’s night.
Two of the corpses wore magic armor, which Roan had to leave behind for want of time. With every passing second, he could picture the thugs racing closer and closer. The feeling was prophetic. As he began the task of hacking away thumbs, four of the K Street Killers raced around the corner.
Roan hopped up and pulled his rapier. “I could use a touch of healing,” he told Amanda, placing himself in front of her. As the thugs rushed their way, a soothing blue light enveloped him (Heal +12 HP). “That’s better. I’ll take the two on the left.”
“We’ll see,” she answered, moving forward to engage her opponents. In two swings she had eviscerated one, leaving him in a pile of his own intestines while at the same time, Roan was in a battle for his life. He easily overmatched either opponent; against both at once, it was a different story.
His sword flashed like lightning and so did theirs. They fought around the bodies of the fallen and only slowly did he gain the upper hand, striking down first one, then the other(XP +70). Amanda was still fighting and he was about to make a condescending remark about his fighting prowess when he realized that she was fighting two new opponents—and was beating them.
“Get your thumbs,” Amanda told him. “I’ll take care of these two.”
Using the magic dagger, he cut off the last eight pairs of thumbs, dropped a few gold pieces on the man he had hired to sniff out the trap, and yelled to Amanda, “Let’s go!”
She made short work of one of her opponents, who fought with desperate fear. The other ran off shouting for help. Roan guessed that they would have half the city coming for them in minutes. “This way,” he said, heading into the closest building. It was the same building in which George Shepp had built his murder house.
They ran to the stairs and when he started up, Amanda pulled back. “We’ll be trapped,” she said.
“Trust me,” he told her and grabbed her hand.
She was reluctant to follow and the further they went the more her beautiful elven face grew pinched and nervous. When they came to the bashed-in front door of George’s apartment she stopped altogether. “No. There is evil here, I can feel it. The city is evil, but this is the worst I’ve felt so far. It’s concentrated.”
“Yes, and it’s going to get worse.” From below came the sound of running feet and screamed orders. “Come with me or clock out. Those are the only choices left to you. They’ll be here in seconds.”
Her throat clicked as she took his hand and entered a place where the foulest evil had occurred. It was an ugly feeling, even to Roan, yet he wasn’t fazed by it. Amanda, on the other hand, seemed to be on the verge of being sick. He had to physically drag her into the hidden torture chamber.
She stared in horror at the rack and the instruments and was about to say something when he heard people burst into the apartment. “Galron, take two squads and secure this building!” a rough voice ordered. “The rest of you tear apart these walls. They’re here somewhere.”
Roan put his finger to his lips and directed Amanda into George’s trophy room. She began shivering at the sight of all the bits and pieces that George had collected from his hundreds of victims. “Through here,” Roan said, pointing toward the next secret door. There was no need to be quiet now. Behind him it sounded as though the apartment was being quickly destroyed. They entered the cramped space behind the walls. “Just follow this until you come to a ladder going down. I’ll be right behind you.”
He shooed her on, knowing that she would fight him if she knew that he planned to burn down yet another building. When she reached the first turn, he opened up the base of the oil lantern and began splashing the fluid around, making sure to cover the walls for a good fifteen feet. Then he waited with a match ready to go.
It wasn’t long before the torture room was discovered and only another minute before the secret passage behind the wall was found.
Roan drew his rapier and faced the first of the thugs. The man was not large or tough. He seemed to be a coward and probably would have turned tail if he wasn’t being pushed on by others behind him. He should have counted himself lucky. When he was just about to cross out of the area Roan had splashed with the oil, Roan lunged forward and skewered him on the end of his rapier(XP +35).
Even before the first fell, Roan lunged toward the next man, however it was a ruse only and while he jabbed with his right hand, he brought his left along the rough wood interior of the passage, striking the match. The next thug in the line of thugs didn’t even notice the flame. All he cared about was the blade pointing at his right eye. He noticed a second later as the narrow passage suddenly became engulfed in flame and screams.
Roan tuned and ran, opening secret doors along the way and banging on walls to wake anyone still sleeping on the second floor. Behind him six men died in the narrow passage(XP +220) and there was no way to know how many more died as the fire ate up the interior walls, encasing the building in deadly smoke so that it seemed as though the fire was coming from every direction.
As he ran, Roan put the thought of innocent deaths out of his mind. They were casualties of war. That’s what he planned on saying to Amanda when she gave him that irritating self-righteous look. She didn’t give him the look. When they made it out into the city once more, sh
e looked back at the building as the flames started burning through the walls, she only cast her eyes down.
She shocked him by saying, “You did what you had to.”
2—
Although sunrise was still a few hours away the fires raging in the city had brought on a false dawn. It had also brought on anarchy and everything that went with it: looting, home invasions, burglaries, murder and utter chaos.
Within the madness, Roan tried to escort Amanda to Ghak territory, which turned out to be impossible. Confused by what was going on, the K Street Killers had pulled most of their thugs from searching for Roan and were preparing for a full scale invasion. They had every street in and out of their section of the city blocked and manned with angry thugs.
It seemed like a tragic waste. As they guarded empty streets, buildings were burning and people were dying. Roan blamed himself for starting the mayhem; everything that followed could be laid at the feet of the Killers, who valued machismo and pride over lives and property.
With their way to safety blocked, Roan wanted to hole up in some seedy tavern where his ill-temper would help them blend in with the locals. Amanda had a better idea. “We will go to the temple of Apollo, where you can pray for forgiveness.”
“Forgiveness?” The word felt both foreign and unsettling. It had him second-guessing himself. “Forgiveness for what, exactly?” He had done many evil things in the last couple of days, and thought it best not to start asking: Was it this? Was it that?
“Forgiveness for your crimes against the Sun God, of course.”
Roan looked at her from the corner of his eye, wondering how she knew about any of his crimes. “Have you been spying on me?”
Infinite Assassins: Daggerland Online Novel 2 A LITRPG Adventure Page 17
