The Path to Peace

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Fluff and Karen had both managed to hold on during the short, violent flight. As the Matriarch landed, they both renewed their attacks on the Dragon. Blood and scales went flying as they did their best to take away the little health the beast had left.

  Alburet had gotten to his feet just as the Matriarch took flight and sprinted for Marysue, knowing he would be too late, but having to try. Gerald Intervening had saved Marysue from the claws of the beast, but it had also knocked her back a few steps, putting her in sight of the Matriarch.

  “Fine, I’ll just have to eat you instead,” the Dragon sneered. Lunging forward, she felt a body crunch under her teeth. Biting down, the Dragon smiled grimly, glad she had taken at least one of the group with her. Pulling back, she saw Marysue sprawled to the side and felt movement in her mouth. Spitting out the body, she saw Alburet, bloody on the ground before her. “No! I wanted her, you foolish Summoner.”

  Removing a claw from the shield pinning Gerald, the massive Dragon brought her foot down on top of Alburet, who wasn’t able to roll away in time. Fluff screamed as Alburet’s party info greyed out.

  Flexing her claws, she pulled up with all of her strength and brought a large chunk of the Dragon’s neck free of the body. The large bloody wound caused the Matriarch to seize as she felt her life leaving her body.

  “I just wanted… my whelp…to live.” Crashing to the ground on top of Gerald, the Dragon finally died.

  Karen slapped her hand to the corpse, looting the body and uncovering Gerald who was alive, though just barely. “Marysue!”

  Marysue was already rezzing Alburet. After the spell finished, Marysue used the last of her mana to throw a heal on Gerald to get him out of danger. “No more breaking eggs,” she said, sitting down abruptly.

  Sitting up with a wince, Alburet found Fluff and Karen holding him. “We beat it?”

  “Yes,” Fluff said, sniffling into his chest. “Bring her back.”

  Focusing on Stacia, he summoned her to him. A puff of smoke heralded her return. She quickly shifted to her human guise and joined her husband and wives in the group hug.

  “I be glad ya all managed to survive,” Stacia said.

  “Thank you, Stacia,” Gerald said from where he sat next to Marysue, “for saving her from the fire.”

  “We can nay have the healer standin’ in fire,” Stacia said. “Ya all managed to slay the beast, though I was nay much help.”

  “You kept me alive, which let me keep them alive,” Marysue said.

  “What caused all of us to lose our minds?” Karen murmured, her eyes locking onto Alburet’s. “Care to explain?”

  “I don’t know,” he said softly. “We can figure it out later.”

  “We will,” Karen said seriously. “That wasn’t healthy.”

  “We need two more Egg Tenders,” Gerald said as he got to his feet. “But no more eggs.”

  “Agreed,” Alburet said, getting to his feet and helping his wives up. “Let me call the boys back first.”

  Bob appeared and looked around before asking, “Did I help distract it at least?”

  “You did good, Bob,” Alburet said as Tiny appeared. “Thanks for tanking it at the start, Tiny. We won’t be breaking any more eggs, though.”

  “As you wish, master,” Tiny rumbled.

  “Okay,” Gerald said. “Karen, you’re up.”

  “When we turn in, we should stop for a bite to eat,” Karen said as she shimmered into stealth and walked away from the group.

  Chapter Sixteen

  It didn’t take them long to find and kill the other two Egg Tenders to complete the last quest. With deep sighs of relief, the group Homestoned back to Stormguard and headed straight for the Portal Guild, so they could turn in the quests.

  “Your God’s Grace buff is still up, for a bit at least,” Fluff said.

  “True enough,” Alburet nodded. “Oh, what did we all get from the Matriarch?”

  Karen dug out a dagger and flipped it a couple of times before putting it back in her bag. “Another dagger, but it’s not quite as good as my others.”

  Alburet pulled out a leather cap, decorated with small figurines in the shape of Infernals. “Ha, a Summoner only cap, Cap of the Infernal Lover. The stats would be good if not for the Crown. I’ll see if Violet wants it.”

  “I got the Boots of the Rager, Berserker only scale boots,” Fluff said. “Let me put these on real quick, they add another five feet to my Leap Ability.

  They paused while Karen steadied Fluff as she swapped boots. “You both got good items and all I got was a normal dagger. Bah, rigged loot.”

  Alburet could tell she was suppressing laughter and wasn’t actually upset. He rolled his eyes at her, “What was that? All I heard was boohoohoo.”

  Mock glaring at him, Karen scooped Fluff up onto her shoulder and took off down the street as soon as Fluff was ready to go. “Fine, I’ll take the best loot in the city.”

  Laughing, Stacia watched them banter. “Our family be able to have fun nay matter what life gives us.”

  Karen stopped after a minute and set Fluff back on her feet, letting the others catch up to her. “I wasn’t lying though. This is the best loot in the city.”

  “Aye, we agree, but we all have the best with each other,” Stacia said with a grin.

  “Karen,” Fluffball asked suddenly, “what did that Assassin drop earlier?”

  “Oh, right, I forgot about that,” Karen said, digging the small pouch out of her bag. “Funny, loot doesn’t normally drop like this.”

  Alburet took a step away from her, gently pulling Fluff and Stacia with him. “We’ll be over here while you open it.”

  “Oh fine, just abandon me,” Karen scoffed as she opened the small pouch. Pulling out a small square of paper, she held it out to Fluff, then upended the bag, dumping a ring into her hand. “A signet ring. What’s the paper say, Fluff?”

  Lips pursed, Fluff handed it to Alburet. “He wants to meet with you.”

  Eyebrows rising, Alburet took the note and read it. “He is asking to meet before God’s Grace falls off, so I know I’ll be safe from other attacks.”

  “Does he say why?” Stacia asked.

  “No, just that he wishes to talk,” Alburet grimaced. “I still have time. Maybe I should make him come out to the Lava Pits to talk.”

  “We’ll be there, just in case,” Karen said, fingers touching the pommels of her daggers.

  “I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Alburet told her. “I have to hand the ring off to a man at the Portal Guild. Looks like lunch might be interesting.”

  “Oh gods, not again,” Karen sighed. “Did you upset some old Chinese guy or something?”

  “May you live in interesting times,” Fluffball nodded. “Al did accept us, so I don’t think his life is that bad.”

  “Too true,” Karen grinned, kissing Fluff briefly.

  They laughed and smiled as they walked along, not prepared for the sudden attack. Even with Tiny and TJ walking before and behind Fluff, she was attacked by two people, who used the narrowest of gaps to slip in and hit her.

  The moment both Assassins became visible, Tiny and TJ stunned them. Stacia reacted almost as fast, slipping around Alburet to use Comforting Touch on Fluff and restoring some of her lost health. Bob used Burning Cleanse to strip the poison debuffs off her.

  Karen reacted a fraction after the minions, both of her blades digging deep into the back of the player before her. “Wrong move, Nightlygale,” Karen hissed in the woman’s ear as she plunged the daggers in a second time.

  Pulling his maul from his back, flames sprang up around the head with a thought. Alburet swung it into the back of the other stunned Assassin, tearing a chunk of health from him. “Idiots,” Alburet growled as he pulled back for the next strike.

  The maul never had a chance to connect; what felt like a wrecking ball hit him from behind and drove him into the ground. The sounds of combat became more chaotic around him. Shaking his head to clear the stars f
rom it, Alburet found a heavy weight sitting on him.

  “Payback is a bitch, and so am I,” a voice purred in his ear. “I’ve been waiting for this, and since I’m defending my group members, I can’t get in trouble with the guards. Plus, we get a cut of what they make for killing you guys.”

  At the corner of his vision, a red furred face was leering at him. “Bloodmoon?”

  “Good, you remember me,” the Lunari Berserker said, claws sinking into his neck. Her eyes seemed to shine in a sick, twisted sort of pleasure as she took her time digging them all the way into him. “I’ll be seeing you again soon—I really do have to thank the guy who told me this would work.”

  Health dropping fast from the bleed effect from Bloodmoon’s claws, Alburet tried to push off the ground. He couldn’t, though, his arms were pinned under him and he lacked the leverage to move her.

  “Master,” Tiny roared, his foot connecting with Bloodmoon’s side and sending her sprawling off Alburet.

  The claws being torn from his neck only worsened his bleed debuff. Fumbling at his waist, he grabbed a potion and was able to drink it to restore some of his life. Staggering to his feet, he found Stacia and Kitten frozen in ice. Bloodmoon’s old ally, Icestorm, was laughing as he finished his next spell and a circle of lightning appeared under their frozen forms.

  Dismissing Stacia caused both her and Kitten to vanish from the ice blocks just before the spell went off. Both blocks shattered into dozens of shards, momentarily hiding the fact the Succubus and her Copy had escaped.

  Blood going cold, Alburet’s eyes focused on the Elf mage who was wearing a confused expression. “Motherfucker,” Alburet snarled, summoning Stacia back to him and Copying her again, “that is my wife!”

  Icestorm blanched at the sight of Alburet running at him, flaming maul drawn back. Waller Intervened, coming between Alburet and the Elementalist, and stunning Alburet with Shield Bash.

  Kitten began to sing, only to be silenced by the male Assassin Alburet had attacked earlier. “I really hate mind controls,” the Assassin laughed as he sank his dagger repeatedly into the silent Succubus.

  Stacia, still in her natural Succubus form, focused on the Defender to sing, but had to dodge back as Bloodmoon landed where she had been standing. “So pathetic, he thinks an NPC is a real wife,” Bloodmoon taunted.

  Waller took advantage of the stun to remove most of what was left of Alburet’s life. “I really wish we hadn’t had to call in the second team, but it was worth it,” the Defender laughed as Alburet finally shook off the stun.

  The party UI at the edge of his vision informed him that both Karen and Fluff were already down. Slamming his maul into the laughing man before him, Alburet stepped back and looked around to find nine other people encircling him. Bob, Tiny, and TJ were gone, and Kitten was killed as his eyes found her. A second later, Stacia cried out as Bloodmoon killed her too, leaving Alburet all alone.

  “We’ll be seeing you in twelve hours,” Bloodmoon laughed at him, “as soon as that stupid buff wears off.”

  “That’s fine. We’ll be ready for you, and you won’t get the sucker punch next time,” Alburet said as he hefted his maul onto his shoulder. “Care for a rematch, Blood?”

  An evil smile grew on Bloodmoon’s lips. “You really think you can take me in your condition?”

  “Why don’t we find out?” Alburet asked as he extinguished the flame on the maul. Attaching it to his back, he cracked his neck. “Or are you afraid to lose again?”

  “Oh, you’re so dumb,” Bloodmoon snickered as Waller grabbed Alburet from behind. “Why kill you fast when I can kill you slow, hmm?”

  Leaving just a single claw out she strolled towards Alburet. The other group that had joined the fight seemed agitated. “What the hell? If you kill him, we don’t get the bounty,” one of the people in black leather said.

  Looking over her shoulder, Bloodmoon shrugged. “Like I give a fuck.”

  “That wasn’t the deal,” Nightlygale said. “We get the money for killing them all, that was the deal.”

  Rolling her eyes, Bloodmoon flicked at something invisible. “There. Now you’re not part of my group, so you can’t stop us without causing issues with the guards. Now go get your bounty for the two you already killed. Al here is going to linger for a bit.”

  “Stop, in the name of Justice!” a strong voice echoed from down the street. Two men in Stormguard Guard uniforms were running towards them.

  “God damn it,” Bloodmoon snarled as she lunged forward, jabbing her claw into Alburet’s neck. “Next time we’ll do it slowly, Al. We’ll be seeing you.”

  Once he’d come back into being at the Dead Man’s Inn graveyard, he found Fluff and Karen there. “Surprised you’re waiting here,” Alburet said as he summoned Stacia.

  “That was some fucking bullshit,” Karen said heatedly. “I’m going to lodge a complaint with the Assassin’s Guild.”

  “The other group of Assassins jumped us when Bloodmoon attacked you,” Fluff said. “They stunlocked us.”

  “Tha’ be nay the way Assassins are supposed to be workin’,” Stacia added as she shifted to her normal human guise.

  “I know,” Karen snapped, before letting out a deep breath. “Sorry, Stacia, that—”

  “It be fine, I be as angry as ya,” Stacia said. “I know it was nay me ya was angry with.”

  “Do we go talk to the Assassin’s Guild, or go to the Portal Guild first?” Fluff asked.

  Karen gave Fluff a hug, feeling the small pulses of self-loathing she was emitting. “We didn’t stand a chance, Fluff. There was nothing we could have done without some serious help; maybe if Gerald and Marysue had been there, it might have been different.”

  Summoning Tiny and Bob, Alburet nodded. “She’s right, Fluff. You did the best you could. We all did. Next time we won’t be killed so easily. We’ll come up with a plan.”

  “I’m sorry I failed you, master,” Tiny said as he appeared, dropping to one knee with his head hung low.

  “Fucking bullshit,” Bob said as he appeared. “Ten on us, I couldn’t get rid of the stun debuffs fast enough, and that damned Elementalist put me on ice while they killed Fluff and Karen.”

  “You tried,” Fluff said softly, “even though it hurt a little, I knew you were doing all you could, Bob. I couldn’t even do tha—”

  Alburet stepped forward and hugged her, then pulled Karen into the hug, then Stacia. “We’ll do better next time. Besides, you were all gone when the two groups splintered. Let’s go talk with the Assassins first, and I’ll explain why I was delayed in joining you on the way.”

  Message from Gerald:

  Al, what happened? You all died? Do we need to head back to the city?

  Message to Gerald:

  Assassins. We’ll explain when we get there. Go ahead and turn in the quests without us. We’ll be along after a quick detour. Grab a table at the inn there, we’ll be needing some food.

  Message from Gerald:

  Okay, I want to hear what the hell happened though. Marysue was quite upset we weren’t there to help you all. I think it’s time for some good old-fashioned corporate warfare. See you when you get here.

  Putting his Mindstone away, Alburet briefly met the gazes of his three wives. He could see a range of emotions, but love was in all of their eyes and hearts. “Gerald will turn in the quests so we meet the deadline for our bonus, then grab a table for us. He has something up his sleeve. Let’s finish up quick and go see our Guild Leader.”

  Alburet Copied Stacia and Tiny before they left the graveyard. The two Destroyers eyed everyone they passed with suspicion, spooking a few people. Bob darted from rooftop to rooftop, on hyper vigilant watch. “We have God’s Grace, we can’t be attacked for twelve hours,” Alburet told them after a few minutes. “Since all of us are under the effects of it, they can’t target us until it drops off.”

  “It’s good practice,” Tiny rumbled, his hands clenching.

  “What he said,” Bob added.
“I need to work more on my reaction times.”

  Alburet smiled briefly at how serious his minions were about protecting him. “Aye, we all feel tha’ way,” Stacia whispered, “but I be knowin’ tha’ we will nay be caught so unprepared again.”

  Patting her hand on his arm he nodded. “Damn right.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  The Assassin’s Guild wasn’t shy about their presence in the city. A fifteen-foot tall wall of dark grey stone enclosed a large courtyard with an impressive manor at its center. The very top of the manor had a weathervane shaped like a cloaked man holding a dagger behind his back. Alburet frowned at the decoration. Something about it was tickling his mind, but he couldn’t recall what it was.