Stacia stepped in front of Alburet, her blades held ready. “Ya will nay touch me husband, unless ya go through me.”
Gwain slowed his advance, “Husband?” Laughing, Gwain shook his head, “Fine, join him in death.”
Gwain, focused on the enemies before him, hadn’t bothered to look up so he was taken completely by surprise when Bob and his Copy came off the wall to attack his face. “First you go through us,” Bob cackled as his claws dug into Gwain’s face, just missing the eyes. “We might be out of mana, but we still have claws.”
“Insolent whelps,” Gwain snarled, his bladed arms coming up to slice both Imps. Bob’s Copy vanished as Bob died, “I’ll teach you that nothing will stand in the way of his plans.”
Stacia had darted forward during Bob’s distraction, ducking low to get behind Gwain. As Gwain turned his attention back to Alburet, her twin blades sliced into his ankles. “You not be goin’ anywhere,” Stacia snorted. Gwain’s arm blurred around, three quick cuts leaving Stacia in pieces around his feet.
Alburet had started forward when he saw Stacia die, and his brain shut down. A scream erupted from his core. He charged forward, maul drawn back as Gwain turned to him.
“Oh, did you feel that?” Gwain laughed darkly.
As Alburet came into range, Gwain swung at him, only to have his blades hit DrBone and Violet. Their blood splashed onto Alburet, though he didn’t seem to notice it. His maul came around, slamming into Gwain with more strength than he should be able to bring to bear.
Gwain staggered two steps backward, eyes wide in shock at the damage dealt him by that blow. “You think you can best me?”
“He doesn’t have to,” Marysue replied, diverting Gwain’s attention for a moment. “He isn’t alone, after all.” Her smile was vicious as her hand sparkled, “This is for our friends and lovers.”
Gwain sneered as her spell landed, the light magic burning into him as it had before. Those casters still standing all timed their strikes together, Marysue’s spell the first of a barrage. A sole arrow sprouted from Gwain as well, launched by Leggylass.
His life plummeting fast, Gwain roared. The flaming maul slammed into him again, cutting the roar short. “You think you can hurt my loved ones and walk away? You’re not the first to make that mistake,” Alburet snarled as he slammed the maul home again, just as another wave of spells slammed into the undead monstrosity.
Gwain’s life fell to a single percent. He batted Alburet away from him, throwing the Summoner clear across the room with the flat of a bladed arm. Alburet slammed into the wall, the wind knocked out of him as the maul fell from his hand. Gwain stalked toward the stunned Summoner, snarling.
“Kill him,” Marysue called out as the ranged continued to pour all they could into the monster.
Alburet didn’t die, though he had come close. He was able to stagger back to his feet just in time to watch Gwain get cut down by the others. The monstrous body swayed, then toppled with a crash as Gwain died with a despairing shriek. “We did it,” Alburet coughed. A series of pop-ups flashed into everyone’s vision.
Gwain’s Keep has been cleared.
This keep may now be claimed by the leader of the Guild responsible for clearing it.
To claim the keep, have your guild leader sit upon the throne.
Chapter Thirty-nine
Alburet read through the rest of the pop ups, dismissing each one after reading them.
Quest Completed: Safely Escort Deirdre Crowley to Gwain’s Keep.
Reward: Increased reputation with all Dark Lord factions.
Your reputation with all Infernals is now Respected.
Gwain’s Keep Cleared.
Your reputation with all Stormguard factions increased
Your reputation with all other factions increased
Gwain the Green Knight laid to rest.
You gain 5,000 gold
Clear a Keep.
Your reputation with all factions is increased.
You gain 10,000 gold
You are now Liked by all Dwelden factions.
You are now Liked by all Elven factions.
You are now Liked by all Lunari factions.
You are now Respected by Stormguard Guards.
You are now Friendly with all Stormguard factions.
You have 9 unselected Abilities. Visit a trainer to select them.
Alburet handed one of the two mana potions he still had to Marysue and the other to Deirdre. “Get folks revived, if their timers haven’t run out. Make sure to mark them so you have the time to actually do it.”
He stepped away from the surviving raid members, all busy reviving fallen comrades or examining the loot they’d gained. He summoned Tiny first. The burst of smoke made a few people look over, but they went back to what they’d been doing when they saw there was no new threat. “Tiny, run interference for me,” Alburet mumbled softly. Next, he summoned Stacia, Copying her before the smoke could clear. Stacia shifted instantly into her human guise, while Kitten waved away the smoke as if she had been the one summoned.
“I’m glad you’re immortal,” Alburet whispered to Stacia.
“As long as ya be with me, I will be. Sorry for causin’ ya distress, but ya needed a moment to deal with him,” she replied as she rested her head on his chest.
“You did what you deemed best at the time. Please don’t do that again though, it nearly broke my heart.”
“I will do me best, me lovin’ husband,” Stacia told him before kissing his cheek.
He summoned Bob a moment later, “Bob, well done on the distraction.”
Bob looked around and smiled broadly, “So was it my distraction that won the fight?” Bob was taller and darker than before, having become an Improved Imp.
“It surely helped, Bob,” Alburet told the proud Imp. Alburet made a mental note to ask Bob if he could fly yet.
A moment later Fluff and Karen wandered over to him. “We did it,” Karen exhaled, “I almost want a cigarette. That was intense, am I right?”
“Wish you had been there for the finish,” Alburet told them. “The fight was not fun for you guys.”
“The bugs were the worst,” Fluff shuddered.
“Not fun. Thankfully Alburet was able to burn them away,” Karen added, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “So, are you going to claim that throne or not?”
He shook his head at her, before pulling her in for a hug and kiss. He did the same to Fluff, basking in her purr. “Glad we don’t die any final deaths, I’d hate to see either of you leave.”
Fluff smiled at him, “I feel the same.”
“Me too,” Karen added. “About that throne, though?”
“I was going to wait for the raid to rez first,” Alburet chuckled as he looked over at the growing number of people standing around the throne room. He smiled when his eyes found Kim and Rolland talking to each other. Ioaniss was talking to Ironhand about his crossbow. He sighed in relief to see Chris and Deirdre, both very much alive and deeply involved in their conversation. “I’m happy they survived, and it seems like it’s time.” He went over to the throne, stepping around the green armor that still littered the ground in front of it.
He waited until everyone had been revived to address them. “Alpha Company, well done. Our combined might was enough to overcome our foes and allow us to claim this Keep. I’m frankly honored to be here with you at this time and place. This moment is because of all of you.” He set aside the shield and sword to sit on the throne. A pop up appeared and Alburet accepted the prompt without hesitation. The light in the room brightened as the pop up vanished. “Welcome to our new guild hall, Alpha Company.”
A cheer went up from the crowd, followed by happy conversation as people regaled each other with highlights of the final battle. Gerald made his way over to where Alburet sat, “Al, seems like we managed it. What loot did you get for beating Gwain?”
“Oh,” Alburet blinked, opening his bag and pulling out a leather chest piece that was midnight blac
k. Laughing he held it out for the others to see, “Another piece of the set.”
Leathers of the Demon Lord.
Unique Scaling Item, Part of the Demon Lord set
Armor 130 to torso (up to 200 depending on level) stacks with Demon Skin
Stamina 130 (up to 200 depending on level)
Strength 130 (up to 200 depending on level)
Indestructible
All debuffs last half as long.
Becomes Soul Bound when equipped
Other parts of set:
Crown
Boots
Gloves
Pants
Belt
3 piece bonus: Race change and improved stats from armor
6 piece bonus: ???
“I thought I was doing good to get the first piece of the new Assassin set,” Karen snorted.
“It looks like everyone got a piece of the new class armor sets,” Marysue added as she pulled on pristine white boots. “The bonuses are really nice, too. Two hundred wisdom and a hundred agility.”
Fluff had gotten a belt in a black scale pattern. Gerald had received a white enameled plate belt with an ornate buckle. Karen ended up with dark grey leather gloves. Each of them wore their new pieces with pride, having earned them. Alburet looked around and saw that everyone seemed to be wearing their new gear already.
He slipped his new chest piece on, noting how the coloration of the arms went from black at the shoulder to deep red where it met his gloves. “Just like his skin,” Alburet murmured, thinking of the Dark Lord. The soft leather chest piece had three buttons running down the front like a proper vest should, but it had a long back like a robe or duster.
“Alburet, might I request this armor for the King?” Ioaniss asked, indicating the armor still laying around the throne.
“Sir Jones,” Alburet said as he gestured at Gwain’s armor, “It is my honor to present to the Crown, through you, the armor of Gwain the Green Knight, along with his sword and shield.”
Alpha Company members are now viewed as Respected by all Stormguard factions.
You are now Respected with all Stormguard factions.
Ioaniss grinned broadly, “I shall personally make sure he knows of your generosity once we return to Stormguard. If you don’t mind, I’ll go meet Renful and keep an eye on him.”
“That, Sir Jones, is the best gift I can get from you today,” Alburet chuckled.
“Folks, once the guards and mercenaries get here we are going to have a party,” Alburet added to the room at large as he triggered the Raidstone for the last time. He drew out his Mindstone, sending messages to Roberto and Banthor, telling them it was safe to come up now. Both men sent back acknowledgements, and let him know they’d be up as soon as they could.
Rolland wandered over to the group around the throne, “Alburet, I’ll have the circle set up by tomorrow morning.”
“That works well enough. I’m sure everyone will want to hop over to train and such.” He turned his attention to Kim, “Kim, can you set up to have another receptionist work with Vanessa? This way we can have the desk in the city manned all the time. I’d like you to handle that sort of thing here,” he motioned at the Keep around them.
Kim smiled, “I figured it would be something like that. I’ll get everything set up.”
Alburet handed over all the reagents for the portal to Rolland. “That is everything we currently have. Banthor will be setting up parties to go out into the Dead Lands to get more for us. Talk to him about how you want to arrange matters in that regard.”
“Will do,” Rolland replied as he led Kim away from the throne.
“So, what are our plans, now that this is done?” Gerald asked.
“As a group?” Karen clarified.
“Yeah. Are we going back to do all the zones we missed, along with the dungeons?” Gerald asked.
“Let’s discuss it after we level up tomorrow,” Alburet told him. “Gods only know what might happen between now and then. I’m thinking a day or two off sounds good, though.”
Laughing, Gerald shrugged, “True enough. Do we even have any booze left?”
“Some, though not as much as I had been planning on having.” Alburet dug out the last of the booze and food that he’d carried for the celebratory dinner. “Once the others get here, we shall have a party.”
“That was a hell of a jump in reputation,” Karen added. “I’m now Respected with many of the different world factions and Revered with the Stormguard Guards.”
The others agreed with her, except Alburet. “My negative modifiers have kicked in. I’m friendly with the world, but only Respected by Stormguard.”
“Ouch. Because of the race change, right?” Karen asked.
“Yeah. It’s fine though, the bonuses of being a Half-Infernal are pretty amazing.”
“I still want a race change,” Karen muttered.
“We still have five months before the first test for you guys is over. So we have plenty of time to try and find something for you,” Alburet placated her with a grin.
“I’ll stay as I am,” Fluffball added.
“I wouldn’t change you for anything,” Karen smiled at Fluff, putting her arm around Fluff’s waist.
The party kicked off about twenty minutes later when Roberto and the guards finally showed. It seemed Roberto had brought along some celebratory items as well. Food, booze, and laughter were had in plenty during the party. Many Alpha Company members entertained groups of guards and mercenaries with retellings of the raid. The Possessive Spirits caused more than one man to shudder as those that had been possessed related how it had felt. As the night wore on Alburet took Stacia by the hand, leading her upstairs to the big room.
He looked for the other two before they left, but didn’t find Fluff or Karen in the crowd anywhere. “Where did they go?”
“They be celebratin’ a bit on their own,” Stacia informed him as they climbed the stairs. “It be time for her. I do hope that Karen takes her time.”
“She will, this is something she’s been hoping for and she won’t want to make a mistake,” Alburet reassured her.
“Aye. Tonight I will make sure ya have no dreams. We should just spend it by ourselves and enjoy the night.”
“Yeah, don’t mind us,” Bob snickered from behind them.
Laughing, Alburet looked back at the Imp and Tiny. “You’re dismissed, my powerful, wonderful minions. Thank you for all your aid. Go celebrate with your wives tonight.”
“Gladly,” Bob vanished swiftly, as if he had a hot date.
Tiny gave a small bow, “As you wish, master. I wish you a pleasant night.”
Alburet was about to dismiss Kitten when Stacia stopped him. “Mayhap I want to shower ya with double the love.”
Smiling, Alburet shook his head but acquiesced to her request. “Far be it from me to turn down such a request. You may shower me with all the love you can.”
Her eyes sparkled at his words, “Challenge accepted…” She paused, looking at his ssurprised face, her lips stretching into a smile, “Good, I used it right. I’ll let Karen know tomorrow.”
Chuckling, Alburet followed his wife, wondering again how he had been so lucky to have her fall in love with him. As they neared the room, he picked Stacia up, slinging her over his shoulder as he crossed the threshold. “Now, I think it’s time for me to reassert who is in charge between us.”
Alburet
Half-Blood Infernal Summoner
Level 65
Strength: 265 (260)
Agility: 135 (130)
Constitution: 220 (190)
Intelligence: 190 (160)
Wisdom: 780 (500)
Charisma: 165 (130)
Health: 5,450
Mana: 11,050
Spells:
Demon Skin- Rank 6
Demonic Retribution- Rank 6
Summon Improved Imp
Fire Blast- Rank 6
Sap Strength- Rank 6
Demonic Haze- Rank 6
>
Summon Improved Destroyer
Demonic Vitality- Rank 6
Fire Burst- Rank 6
Summon Improved Succubus
Abilities:
Personal Spells
Flame Weapon
Copy
Infernal Upgrade: (Succubus- Ally)
(9 Upgrades to be selected)
Racial Abilities:
Cast spells without verbal components
Physical damage reduction 25%
Magical damage reduction 10%
Influence emotions
Fire resistance 50%
Reputation gains at half value
Chapter Forty
Alburet woke with Stacia and Kitten snuggled up to him, sleeping contentedly. He kissed Kitten’s brow before he dismissed the Copy, then turned to Stacia who was waking. “Morning, my loving wife.”
Playing For Keeps (Alpha World Book 4) Page 36
