For The Guild (Emerilia Book 2)

by Michael Chatfield

  Each had a spear or long blade. The tables were arranged to keep their attackers at a distance so that the defenders could bleed them with their longer weapons.

  Spells erupted all over the place; the wood tried to attack those using it as cover, either turning to ice or starting to burn in other places. More often than not, it was necrotic damage, black and purple magic causing anything it touched to rot away.

  The Stone Raiders waited, ready to react to anything that looked as if it would be of immediate harm.

  “Jake, you ready there?” Esa asked, not daring to glance back at the Dwarf wearing a black robe over patches that had been sown into a suit. He had slicked-back hair and looked more tired than anything.

  “Yeah, sure.” He yawned and stretched. “’Bout time these dick licks saw what a real necro can do.” He grinned and cracked his knuckles. “Wakey wakey, boys and girls. Time to put those hands to use. Uggh, Ben’s body is being a pain in the arse to use. Damned demi-bear!”

  It might be tense in the room but Jake’s antics made more than one person grin.

  They would kill whoever tried to hurt their guild. In the meantime, fighting was their business. Day in, day out. The Stone Raiders were the people you called when you had a monster problem. The bigger, the better.

  “They’re making it closer!” Rowen yelled as magical lights and the sound of bows letting loose could be heard, interspersed with the cries of pain.

  It seemed as though the second floor was in a different realm as Esa focused on the door in front of her. Someone rammed the door; an axe slammed into it. Then another. The door was already half apart.

  The PKPs might be assassins but their prey were other Players, the strongest competition in the game and a way to get the highest experience as fast as possible.

  “Bunch of pussies—hiding in a tavern. Get some Fire in there!” one of the PKP yelled, pulling with his axe and taking half the door off.

  “Fuego stream!” a caster yelled. Fire rushed through the door.

  “Ice wall!” one of the Stone Raiders said, countering.

  “Fine, since everyone’s having a fucking party!” Jake put his hand on a glowing soul gem. His smile was pure evil as his pupils seemed to turn into purple and black. “Incarnate.”

  The word was spoken quietly but carried through the fighting, through the Stone Raiders and PKP. To the dead that lay in the streets, to those who were now behind the PKP who had rushed the Stone Raiders.

  A low moan escaped an undead’s lips as they started to push themselves to their feet.

  Jake’s face paled as his legs wobbled. He fell to his knees, his face in a rictus of pain and concentration. He let out a haggard grasp as the ice wall and Fire gave up.

  The first PKP, an axe wielder, ran into the tavern.

  Esa’s spear shot out: quick, fast, and just enough to pierce. Just like Joko had taught her. Four other spears shot out. Two were deflected; the other three made it past the axe wielder’s weapon and shield.

  He cried out in pain and anger.

  “Smash!”

  Still using Actions. Idiots.

  The action broke the defenses in places. Again, the spears attacked the axe wielder.

  “Iron wall!”

  The Stone Raiders altered their attack; four spears got through. The fifth broke on the axe wielder’s shield. The spear wielder moved out of the way, so another could take his place.

  That’s when the screams started behind the PKP.

  “The fuck!”

  “Shit, they’ve got a necro!”

  More panicked screams started as the sound of battle reached Esa’s ears.

  “How you like me now! Fuck, that sucks!” Jake clawed his way to a seat.

  The Stone Raiders grinned as their attacks were faster and harder, pressing the PKP who were now fighting a battle on two fronts.

  About two hundred PKP were in the street, attacking the tavern. They were one of the larger guilds with nearly five hundred members.

  More were entering the fray, fighting the undead.

  Unlike the living, the undead could take more of a beating. The world seemed to shake as a giant landed among the PKP. Its massive axe cut through the stunned PKP with ease. What looked like a cloak of metal fell from it, turning into metal creations.

  The wind howled as people beyond the tavern’s front cried out in pain.

  A longsword cut down the axe wielder in front of the barricade.

  “Well, are you Stone Raiders or some weird kind of turtle?” Anna stood in the doorway as the metal creations and the shiny giant were now being beset on all sides by PKP.

  Esa let out a yell; she rushed forward, breaking the barrier, and charged out into the street. Her shield bearers followed. Esa hotkeyed her shield and blade. The weapons appeared in her hands as the Stone Raiders moved around her to form a shield wall.

  Spells and arrows rained down on her and the forward tanks, taking the pressure off the ranged fighters on the second floor, who happily took out their opposition.

  Esa activated her self-buffs as the supporting mages added to their list of buffs. The left side of Esa’s vision had a series of buff symbols.

  “The hell is that?” one of the shield bearers asked of the metal giant that was wading through the PKP, moving with speed that belied its size.

  “I’m Steve!” It turned around, a big goofy grin on its face as it got hit with an ice spell.

  “Ah, fuck balls!” Steve turned around, grabbing a metal construct that milled around, killing any PKP in range, and threw it at the casters who had stayed back. He threw two more that seemed to move toward him, turning into metal spears as he threw them.

  “Suzy, you da best!” Steve said as the magicians started screaming out from the metal constructs in their midst.

  Stone Raiders’ tombstones appeared as PKP finally got a grasp of the situation and retaliated.

  More of their guild were coming into play; soon the Stone Raiders would be overrun.

  The Stone Raiders’ options were either stay in the tavern and wait it out, losing people slowly or to fight here and now, putting everything on the line to inflict more casualties to the PKP.

  Esa made her decision.

  “Let’s show these bastards how the Stone Raiders do things! In your parties!” Esa yelled out, watching as Anna danced through the PKP. She seemed to vanish at times, sometimes turning into a blur. Esa’s enhanced speed was not enough to keep up with the woman.

  “Fire storm!” Deia yelled out from a rooftop, marking her for everyone.

  “Ah shit!” Steve said. The giant had a look of dread as he ran away from the PKP.

  Anna moved quickly, her blades cutting deep as she vaulted the Stone Raiders’ shield wall. “You might want to get back for this,” she said, continuing back to the front of the tavern.

  “Pull back!” Dread filled Esa as she obeyed.

  The road filled with swirling firestorms, raging and howling, drowning out the screams of the PKP who were caught in the whirlwind of Fire and superheated Air. As the PKP burned, few made it through to be greeted by the Stone Raiders.

  Both sides fought with everything they had.

  A shadow seemed to emerge from the fire; it blurred, taking out three Stone Raiders in as many seconds.

  Anna charged forward to meet it. Her blade rang out as she met the attacker. The man snarled. The two of them turned into two blurs of magic, blades, and destruction.

  “Get around the firestorm and kill the fuckers in the buildings on the other side!” Esa yelled, looking to the parties that had formed up.

  “Stone RAIDERS!” Five parties charged off around the firestorm, hunting down the PKP.

  More PKP arrived by the minute.

  Fuck, what the hell do I do now? She thought as a pair of boots hit the front porch of the tavern.

  “Well, this is a right fucking mess.” Josh looked out over the firestorms and the melees happening all over the place.

  “What do y
ou want us to do?” Esa said.

  “It looks like you’re doing a good job already. Everyone, party up! Esa, you take as many people as you need to keep this place and your healers safe. I’ll take the rest and we’ll hunt down every one of the bastards hiding in SC. We need to go find Dave,” Josh muttered the last part to himself.

  “So all of Party Zero is here?” Esa asked.

  “Yeah.” Josh shook his head as Deia rode over her own firestorm, her boots covered in blue flames as she fired her bow. Her hands moved as fast as a machine gun; ripples from the force of her shots made the sky crack in submission.

  Induca dropped onto the roof Suzy was on. Earth and wind creatures fought off the PKP that were there. Suzy yelled out orders as Induca called down all manner of Fire spells.

  Steve rushed toward a group of incoming PKP, giggling. “Welcome to the party, boys and girls! Wanna try out my axe in your face?”

  “Where the hell did he come from?” Esa asked.

  “He’s Suzy’s summoned creature.” Josh grinned.

  “Two parties—go and make sure that big idiot doesn’t die!” Esa yelled, pointing at Steve.

  “Come on! Can’t let that big tin can get all the kills!” Donovan yelled.

  “Hey! That’s good-looking shiny tin can to you!” Steve yelled back, hitting a PKP so hard they landed inside a house. “Fuck, sorry! Well, guess they’re redecorating.”

  Esa and Josh looked at each other. Where the hell do we find these people? Their eyes seemed to ask before they turned back around.

  “All right, let’s go hunting! Oh, Dwayne should be back soon enough!” Josh dashed away.

  “You, you, you, and you—your people are staying here,” Esa barked out.

  They nodded as Stone Raiders flooded out of the tavern, hungry looks on their faces.

  ***

  “Well, this is a right fucking mess.” Josh dropped next to Dave as he put an arrow into a fleeing PKP, hitting their leg, making them stumble as a darkling pulled them into the shadows, covering them.

  Screams rang out before the shadow disappeared, leaving a body on the ground.

  “Yeah.” Dave took a running jump to another house.

  “I’ve got everyone fanned out around us to use your Touch of the Land and the PK skulls that are all over the place. It looks like People Kill People brought their entire guild, all five hundred members,” Josh said, keeping up with him.

  Both went silent as they dropped down to the street level. They moved silently, their eyes never leaving the four PKP who were casting a spell over a group of the dead.

  Dave’s bow switched into a two-handed sword as they got closer.

  One started to turn around as the ground beneath their feet lit up with an alarm rune.

  Josh jumped, sinking his blades into one of the casters’ backs, and twisting them.

  The two Players cried out in pain, their spell failing and backlashing on the casters. They screamed out, but one started to raise their hand as a black mist formed in their hands.

  Dave brought his sword across, nearly severing the caster in two as their Health hit zero and they toppled over. Dave didn’t stop, flipping the blade in his hands so it pointed down. He jabbed it through the caster who had turned at the alarm rune.

  That caster looked up at Dave and the blade in his chest. Holy light came out of the wound. The caster screamed for a few moments as Dave ripped the blade out.

  He looked to see Josh had cut the two casters’ necks open. Dave was about to say something when he was hit with a spell that sent him flying five feet into the middle of the street.

  His head was ringing and he’d lost forty percent of his Health. Already his armor was starting to heal him and fight off the necrotic damage that was eating away at him. He pulled his hood on, chastising himself as he tried to clear his head.

  Josh let out a pained grunt some ten feet away.

  Dave pulled himself free from the building to see five PKP who had been hiding in an alley. With Dave’s Touch spread out across the entire city, it was hard to pin down certain things. Like when someone makes a cloak of shadows and uses their fellow guildmates to lure you out to ambush you.

  “Return,” Dave said. His great sword, which had been sent into an alleyway, returned to his hand. With a thought, the great sword turned into a shield and sword.

  Dave tried conjuring items above the other group but his head was so rattled that he couldn’t get the items or positioning right.

  Josh was fighting the two fighters while their assassin tried to get in behind and attack his rear. One caster maintained a dome of shadows over them so that no one could see them.

  Dave ducked and held his shield up; an arrow pierced it and hit his Mana barrier. It was stuck a half-inch through his shield.

  “Fuck sakes!” Dave moved to Josh and his fight, adding three more arrows to his shield. Their fifth member was an archer of some kind. The black liquid that was on the tip of the arrows and Dave’s Touch told him that the arrows were of the poisoned variety.

  One of them slammed into his shield and hit his arm. The immediate pain was followed with what felt like battery acid running through his veins and his body feeling as if he were moving in water.

  “Backstab!” The PKP fighter yelled, activating his attack.

  Dave’s sword turned into a spear. He threw it behind Josh, hitting the assassin in mid-air. They let out a surprised shriek as the spear hit them in the arm. Josh slashed at them as Malsour lowered himself behind the caster and archer. Two shadows erupted from his hands, turning into blades that he slashed sideways, taking the caster’s head off and making the archer scream out in pain.

  “Return!” Dave bum-rushed the dual wielder who was working Josh down.

  Dave’s body felt heavy as he met the dual wielder’s two blades. He now saw the use of having a shield. His vision was getting blurry as well.

  “Fucking poison.” Dave shield bashed the dual wielder and kicked their leg. They cried out but slapped Dave’s sword away, anger in their eyes as they fought Dave with renewed vigor.

  “Dave, step to your right,” Malsour said.

  Dave did so. A piece of metal shot out of a house and slammed through the attacker.

  Malsour’s darkling looked up from the archer who had fallen prey to it. Its maw opened in hunger, looking at Dave.

  The dual wielder coughed, their lung punctured.

  Dave moved to finish off the other one-handed and shield fighter. His shadow covered the man.

  The darkling disappeared from the archer. It seemed to erupt from Dave’s body, screaming as the magical blade of the PKP hit it. Its fingers extended, piercing the dude’s eyes and mouth.

  “Fucking hell. Exorcist much?” Josh looked away and dealt with the assassin who was trying to crawl away. Josh had nicked something important with his slash.

  The darkling disappeared as the fighter stopped shaking and making choking noises. The body started to move, shadows around its eyes, nose, and mouth.

  “That is nasty,” Dave said as the fighter moved to stand beside Malsour, the darkling inside it controlling the body.

  “It is amazing what one can do with a nice shield.” Malsour tapped the darkling/exorcist/fighter thing’s breastplate.

  “Well, Dwayne needs our help and there are still PKP out in the streets,” Josh said.

  Dave spread out his senses, looking for pockets of PKP skulls or Players killing POEs.

  “Stop in the name of the Selhi Capital guard!” a woman yelled, chasing down the street with fifty guards following her.

  “Ahh, hello!” Josh waved to them.

  “State your business,” she asked as Malsour moved to Dave, touching his shoulder.

  The blurriness and pain burning through his veins faded away. “Fuck, that felt like shit. What was that?” Dave asked.

  “Some Blackthorn mixed with dark magic curses. I just instructed it to leave your body,” Malsour said.

  “Tha—” Dave raced
over to the side of a building.

  “Stop there!” the woman yelled out as Dave threw off his gauntlets and then worked on his pants, dropping his weapons.

  He let out a content sigh as the sound of water on rocks could be heard.

  “Shit, almost didn’t make it.” Dave studied his puddle. “Is it supposed to be black and red?” Fear entered his voice.

  “That’s the poison leaving your system,” Malsour said.

  “More damned warning next time!” Dave complained as the guards moved all around them, swords drawn.

  “Hello, I am Josh Giles. These are my mates Malsour and that one’s Dave.”

  “Hiya!” Dave said, finishing off his business. “Fuck, it’s a pain in the dick to try to piss wearing all this shit.”

  “We’re from the Stone Raiders. Earlier tonight, we were out scouting a possible job when the forces we left behind in this city were set upon by a guild called PKP. Right now, we’re working to clear them out of the city and kill any we can,” Josh said.

  The guards looked at the bodies all around.

  “What is that?” The guard captain gestured at the darkling puppet.

  “He was a PKP member. Seeing as he’s not using the body anymore, I am.” Malsour smiled.

  “Dude, nice presentation. That was scary as fuck.” Dave sorted out his gear and put it back on.

  “Guild badges,” she said.

  Everyone showed their shoulders. Josh looked around and pulled out a golden necklace.

  “Nice,” Dave said.

  “Ehh, perks of rank, right?” Josh grinned.

  “Very well. We ask you to help us in clearing out the bastards who are attacking our city.”

  Quest: Restore Order

  Kill, capture, or drive out those who dared to disturb the peace in Selhi’s capital.

  Rewards: ???

  Failure: Death, allowing the troublemakers to run free.

  Do you accept?

  Y/N?

  “Yes.” Josh waved away the screen as a new one popped up for Dave and Malsour.

  Quest: Restore Order

  The Stone Raider guild has accepted the quest to kill or capture any and all who have disturbed the peace in Selhi’s capital.