Know Your Roll

by Matthew Siege

  “Well,” I said, “considering he’s being forced to dig a tunnel into the mountain mere hours before they ritually sacrifice him to the Smash, I’d say he’ll see things our way. Now listen up, because we need your help.”

  The ‘danger’ hand drifted higher. “I’ll listen, but no promises. We’ve got a lot of Heroes chasing their tails, and the dockside fires will drag even more. Cringer saw Sanguine headed for ‘Neath a little while ago, so at least we shouldn’t have to worry about her for a while. We’re waiting for a chance to sneak in and grab Zazz, but…”

  I nodded. “But even a few protagonists are a few too many. I get it. I’ve been in the dungeons before. I wasn’t shifting dirt, but I know how they operate. There’ll only be a few guards in the front room, while the rest will be doing the slave driving underground. If you and your crew lure the top guys out, Team Gearblin might be able to get down to the Dregs with a little bit of surprise on our side.”

  He stared at me for a moment, clearly trying to work out if I was joking. “Did you get hit in the head, Raze?”

  “Sure. She’s the one that gave me the black eyes, actually…”

  “It’s true!”

  Botha looked from me to her and back to me. “Fine,” he said at last, “but that’s all the help we’ll be. If there’s any Dregs left in Hallow willing to throw their lives away in a hopeless fight against an overwhelming foe, I’ve yet to see them raise their hands.”

  Patch stuck her hand in the air, and after a second so did I. Bingo was only just joining us, but when he noticed that our hands were raised he put his up too.

  Botha snorted. “You’re brave now, but where were you when my boss was getting framed for your unicorn job?”

  “Honestly? Probably in dreamland. But I’m awake now, and I’m going to make it right. Once I bust him out, I’ll make sure he knows his freedom was bought and paid for by your actions.”

  Botha sulked, his ‘danger’ hand high and the ‘opportunity’ one very, very low.

  Patch and Bingo’s hands were still up, so to seal the deal I reached out and grabbed Botha’s elbow. I could tell that he tried to dodge, but his strength and speed didn’t mean anything against me.

  “I’ll make it easy for you,” I said, shoving his arm high. “Thanks for volunteering. All of you will get paid for the hard work you do, but I need it done now.”

  He was smart enough not to bother to struggle, snapping the fingers on his free hand so that the guys with him paid attention. “You heard Raze. We’re going to draw as many Heroes as we can out of the first floor. Lead them on a merry chase, ditch them and meet up at the mountain.”

  I was relieved that he’d agreed to help. “There’s a cart hidden alongside the path near the temple. Find some horses, and it’s yours. The stuff in the back belongs to me, though.”

  Botha pointed at two of his guys. “New plan. You two, find something to hitch to that thing. The rest of us will catch up to you once the Heroes quit the chase.”

  “Good luck,” I told them all.

  “Says the Hero…” With that, Botha and his guys walked boldly out of the doorway of the warehouse we were all hunkered down in and strode across the street, straight into the VC headquarters.

  “Buncha *shhtuck*ing thugs,” Bingo hissed.

  Shouts and the sound of toppling chairs erupted from inside the headquarters, followed immediately by a footrace that would’ve been comical if it hadn’t been so fraught with danger. Botha and the rest turned toward the middle of Hallow and, at a signal I didn’t see, scattered in every direction except for ours as more than a dozen Heroes fell all over each other trying to decide which of the scoundrels to pursue.

  Bingo chuckled. “Correct dat. Buncha effective *shhtuck*ing thugs.”

  I took a second to watch them go, and when I turned to gather my own trio I saw that Patch’s mouth was moving as she clutched the d20 hanging around her neck.

  “RNGesus take the wheel, huh?”

  “Hopefully,” she agreed.

  Chapter 25

  Botha’s boldness had cleared out the entire first floor.

  I knew the layout well. On our right was a wide staircase that led up to offices and council chambers, and in the back of the room was a narrow set of stairs to the dungeon.

  I held up my hand, climbing up the well-appointed stairs and listening hard.

  Decipher (Auditory) Roll

  Cunning Roll: 15

  Result: Success

  All I heard was silence, which was enough for me to hurry back down and join the others.

  Even though I was no stranger to this place, I’d never seen it abandoned like this. They were clearly running on a skeleton crew, and most of the bones had just sprinted out of the building in hot pursuit of the Kobolds.

  Sure, it could’ve been a trap, but I didn’t think so. The good guys were too arrogant and inexperienced to bother to lay an ambush for a crack team of wild Gearblin.

  The three of us moved down into the dungeon, Patch light on her feet and Bingo not so much. There were plenty of cells down here. At any time I’d shared the space with as many as twenty Dregs awaiting punishment.

  All of the holding areas were empty. I still didn’t see VC either, but after the main floor’s desolation I expected it.

  They’d be down in the tunnels.

  “Where is everybody?” Patch whispered.

  Bingo’s excited gasp scared the crap out of me, the noise so deep I felt it more than heard it. We both looked at him as he stabbed his finger toward a crude hallway hacked out of the soft stone.

  The entrance was covered by a rectangle of leather attached to an overhead support beam, and it hadn’t been there the last time I’d been in custody. “Da air comin’ from down dere smells like Mechronite.”

  The sign on the door read ‘Subterranean’ in big, red letters. “That reminds me. I found a big slab of that stuff. They were using it in the Less is Mortar, but it’s way too heavy for us to carry.”

  “Never ‘eard of da place.”

  “Doesn’t matter. The establishment caught a bad case of burning down.”

  Bingo nodded. “T’anks fer lettin’ me know. Da ore scryers knew dere was a big seam of Mechronite under Darkwell, but nobody’d let me dig for it. By da time da time t’ings were dire enough to ease da regs, it was too late. We dug da new tunnel as fast as we could, but couldn’t get to it in time.”

  Patch wrinkled her nose. “Hang on. Does that mean there’s a passage that’ll lead them right into the mountain, once they dig a tunnel from here to connect to it?”

  “Yeah. Shoulda blown it up when I had da chance, but da inspectors said Darkwell woulda been damaged ‘long da way.”

  Explosions made fire, and fire always captured my interest. “How were you going to do that, exactly?”

  “I’ve my ways. Why, ya want me to do it right now? I can, ya know, at a moment’s notice. Da charges are still ripe. I can smell dem, too.”

  Patch, for once, didn’t appreciate his enthusiasm. “The prisoners are down there digging and we’re standing on top of it, so no, I don’t want you to blow it up right now…”

  I needed a little more information before I started to worry. “How far away from the Mechronite were you when the Smash stopped the digging?

  “Two percent.”

  Crap. That meant that there was probably only a thin crust of soil between the city and a tunnel that’d let the Heroes storm the mountain with ease. Sanguine must know that too, which was why she’d started her own underground mining operation.

  That was bad, but there was no point getting everybody into a tizzy just yet. Once we freed the Dregs we’d slow this facet of their offense down, and I’d have to account for someone to guard our own mines later.

  For now, I motioned for them to follow me and headed down the hallway. It coiled into a ramp, and as we descended I could clearly hear the crack of whips and the sounds of digging.

  I was all set to be emotionless. Cunning.
Deliberate. I’d been fantasizing suitable tactics and stratagem my whole life, never imagining for a moment that I’d get a chance to set any of them into motion.

  But all of that went out the window when the next whip crack from the other end of the tunnel was followed by the high-pitched whimper of a child.

  I think we all felt the rage that kicked me in the back of the head hard enough to slam the blinders down, but it was Patch who acted on it first.

  The tunnel was relatively straight and narrow, lit at random by whatever semi-precious stones they’d bothered to toss an illumination enchant on. The Dregs didn’t need much light to swing a pickax at a dirt wall and cart away debris, and the Heroes didn’t really want to watch them any closer than they had to.

  Once upon a time you could bribe your way out of here, but not even I had ever physically escaped from the dungeon. Like everything else, the Heroes’ innate superiority had made them lazy.

  Patch drew the Fangspitter and fired three bright rounds into the closest Hero. He was 20 yards away and leaning against the wall. The first projectile caught him in the hip. It spun him around, setting him up for the second to pop through his guts and the third to shatter his clavicle as his knees gave out.

  Experience Gained (after being split amongst Crew members) = 225

  The gun was loud. The sound of it crashed against my eardrums, echoing down the length of the tunnel and setting off a series of screams, shouts and barked orders.

  “Stay back here and make sure that the only ones who go up the ramp are Dregs,” I told her. There were already Heroes on their way from deeper in the dungeon, and I tightened my grip on the Gladius and sprinted straight at them.

  Weapon Equipped: Steel-Alloyed Gladius

  Damage: 1d6 (Slashing)

  Additional Effects: 10% of all damage continues to be dealt for the next 60 seconds.

  Power Modifier: 0

  Skill Modifier: + 1

  Skill Level with Current Weapon Type: Cocksure

  Damage Potential: 1d6 + 1

  At the top of the ramp I’d been nothing more than the scared street kid that’d hidden fear behind bravado, but now I was what I’d always hoped to be.

  A Hero.

  They weren’t ready for us. How could they be? The first guy who reared up in front of me was still trying to get his longsword out of his scabbard as I

  Contested Friskiness Roll

  Raze: 14

  Juroh: 9

  Result: Raze Success

  darted between his legs and

  Damage = 7

  Hit Points Remaining: 19

  Damage = 5

  Hit Points Remaining: 14

  rammed the Gladius up into his thigh twice, twisting the blade free. He squealed in agony, and I left him for Bingo to finish off. The big Gearblin was lagging behind me, and I heard my first victim slip toward the ground an instant before his face went squelch against the hammer Bingo swung.

  Experience Gained (after being split amongst Crew members) = 180

  The next Hero was no more ready than the one before him, and I

  Contested Friskiness Roll

  Raze: 10

  Shaara: 9

  Result: Raze Success

  ducked the sweep of her mace. It didn’t miss me by much, but the swing left her rib cage exposed and I made her pay for the mistake, plunging my blade into her side three times.

  Damage = 4

  Hit Points Remaining: 23

  Damage = 6

  Hit Points Remaining: 17

  Damage = 6

  Hit Points Remaining: 11

  Her return stroke

  Contested Friskiness Roll

  Raze: 16

  Shaara: 19

  Result: Raze Failure

  caught me in the shoulder and almost lifted me up off my feet.

  Damage = 3

  Hit Points Remaining: 16

  It hurt, but before I could retaliate Bingo had caught up with me and caved in her kneecap. That took her down, and his golf swing of a hammer blow took her out.

  Experience Gained (after being split amongst Crew members) = 200

  A javelin clattered to the ground ahead of me, so far off its mark that I didn’t even have to roll to dodge. Patch shot at the thrower anyway, and I heard her bullet hit flesh.

  Bingo charged off ahead now, and I did my best to keep up with him. He was a battle machine. Perhaps he’d been slow to start, but now that he was firing on all cylinders I couldn’t help but feel a touch of jealousy as I watch his legs pump and his arms flex as he knocked aside a spear thrust with a hammer parry and then blasted a Hero against the wall on the backswing.

  Ever the opportunist, I

  Contested Friskiness Roll

  Raze: 12

  Hroth: 1

  Result: Raze Peerless Success

  sawed at the neck of the dazed Hero before it could regain its feet. It was a Druid, completely out of its element down here. The fur armor didn’t protect his jugular.

  Critical Damage! = 14

  Experience Gained (after being split amongst Crew members) = 160

  I wiped his blood out of my eyes after I killed him, pressing on and breathing hard. I was already surrounded by Dregs, and I saw that Patch had predictably not listened to me. Instead of staying back at the beginning of the tunnel she was trailing along in my wake. She’d taken a keyring from one of the dead guards and was unlocking manacles when

  Contested Decipher Roll

  Raze: 17

  Warwick: 14

  Result: Raze Success

  I saw a hint of movement amongst the darkness in a shallow side-tunnel I hadn’t noticed. A split-second later a stark-white arrow shot out of it, glowing with a holy light that made my eyes itchy.

  Warwick was alive, and he had the jump on us.

  There was just enough time to throw myself on Patch and knock her out of its path. I rolled with her against the wall, hoping to find some cover as Bingo crashed down beside us, roaring in pain.

  I looked up to see him clutching his face. The gas mask’s frame had a slice in it, and underneath there was a nasty gash along his jaw. The hiss of compressed gas and the crackle and stink of a battery electrically discharging into the air bit at my senses.

  After he’d seen how I’d made a pendant of the glow vial he’d given me I’d noticed that Bingo had started wearing his around his neck as well. The impact had set the solution off, and in the green glow of it I saw a wave of fury steal across his features.

  “Bingo?”

  He shoved himself to his feet, grabbing the hammer he’d dropped.

  “Don’t do the whole Berserker Rage thing,” I pleaded, climbing up off of Patch and trying to grab his shoulder before he could charge off.

  Contested Friskiness Roll

  Raze: 6

  Bingo: 21

  Result: Raze Abject Failure

  I managed to miss so badly that I fell flat on my face. My bungled attempt to hold him back resulted in a chipped tooth, though it did mean that I managed to accidentally get out of the way of another arrow as it struck the wall in the spot where I’d been a moment before.

  The glowing missile hit the rock so hard that it dug into it a good six inches, quivering like a tuning fork.

  I didn’t know which to worry about more, the fact that Warwick was a vengeful revenant or the incredible strength he’d just displayed by swiss cheesing the tunnel wall with the arrow. It’s painful light made it hard to look at, and when I reached up and grabbed it

  Contested Tenacity Roll

  Raze: 4

  Arrow of Indignation: 13

  Result: Raze Failure

  Damage: 3

  Damage Type: Magic (Virtue)

  Resistance: N/A

  Hit Point Loss: 3

  Hit Points Remaining: 13

  I earned myself a bad burn across my bare palm. It did give me a chance to Identify it, at least.

  Arrow of Rightful Indignation (Intended Target: Raze)

&n
bsp; Damage: 2d10 + 2

  Damage Type: Piercing

  Additional Effects: Enemies against whom you hold a grudge will find that this arrow burns with your holy hatred.

  Weight: 22 grams

  Durability: 10/10

  Description: Heroes will find the most use for this projectile if they have enemies with whom they have a long and storied past. Once struck, the specific, named opponent will find that the holy aura amplifies. Damage is dealt every second that the arrow remains within the wound.

  There is a catch: If your named opponent uses it against you, the arrow will inflict triple damage against the original wielder. That’s called Karma…

  Minimum Level Required to Equip: 3

  Base Resale Value: 25 gold

  Base Dismantle Result: 12 Gold Bars, 6 Holy Wafers

  Base Alchemical Result: Unknown

  Base Decantation Result: Unknown

  It’d be nice if I could take this with me…

  That was easier said than done, though. No matter how hard I tried,

  Power Roll

  Raze: 13

  Result: Failure

  Hit Point Loss: 3

  Hit Points Remaining: 10

  Power Roll

  Raze: 10

  Result: Failure