Guardians of Camlan

by A. T. Gilbert

  I determinedly put the mental image of that attack out of my mind.

  “Captain Crowhurst!”

  The older man turns toward me, frowning at the interruption.

  “What is it? Did you want to be put back in shackles and escorted to safety?”

  “They have grappling hooks. They’re trying to scale the walls.”

  “For the love of …” He looks around. Every one of his soldiers is occupied already, fighting the invading force. “By The Lady of the Lake, what is going on?” he says, exasperated.

  “I’ll take care of it, Captain.”

  I don’t even bother to wait for his approval before I’m off to the other side of the castle, near the door where we had first emerged out onto the wall. The defense on this side is almost non-existent, all the soldiers being either down in the entrance hall, on guard against whenever the attackers make it through the gate, or around the Murder Hole, defending against the bulk of the force.

  When I reach that side of the castle, the grappling hook is already in place and I waste no time in readying a Fire arrow to take it down. I lean over the side of the wall to fire and notice the players are already halfway up their climb.

  Aim.

  Fire!

  I wait long enough to confirm the rope catch fire before running around the farther side of Castle Nennius, looking for indications of further invaders. I dispatch with two more ropes and their attached climbers and am almost all the way back around to where Erinocalypse is destroying the sorcerer when I see that I’m too late.

  Two hands grab on to the edge of the parapet from below and a player named TheBawdyBoy pulls himself up over the edge. Without thinking I run straight at him, lowering my shoulder and barreling into him before he can get his footing and mount a defense.

  “No!” he yells as I knock him off his feet.

  He grabs at me as I push him over the edge of the castle. Both of his hands get a firm grip on my left arm and the weight of him hanging off me pulls me hard against the edge of the wall nearly knocking the wind out of me.

  [-700 HP]

  That blow to the gut drains about five percent of my health, and I’m in danger of losing more. TheBawdyBoy is still hanging on to me, while he grasps and tries to reach for the rope. It’s too far out of range. I twist and squirm, trying to shake his hold on me before he pulls me over the wall with him. As his fingers slip from my arm, he next holds tight to my cloak, ripping it under his weight and almost pulling me over with him.

  I can’t shake him. With my right arm free, I equip my Goblin Knife, anchor my feet as best I can, keeping the bulk of my weight balanced on the castle wall, and lean as far over as I can. Thank goodness, this knife is longer than the dagger we started with. I’m just able to stab the top of his hand, the thin skin protecting the muscles keeping his grasp.

  “Gah!”

  TheBawdyBoy can’t hold on and as he falls to the ground, he knocks into the player below him on the rope, dragging her down to the ground with them. I hear the thud as they land; I hear their groaning and I see them lying near-motionless in the grass as their health points plummet almost all the way to zero.

  Damn. Didn’t quite kill them off. Not that the game would let me.

  I send a Fire arrow at the top of the rope that is still hanging off the side of the castle to keep them from attempting their invasion again, and continue around the top of the wall, hoping I’m not too late to help Erinocalypse.

  Chapter 41

  When I run up, Erinocalypse and the archer NPC are so close to finishing off ElJugador. Once the sorcerer player is killed, the attacking players will have far less protection and we should be able to stop their assault. As I approach, Erinocalypse lands two consecutive spells, but neither does much damage. The player’s health hovers at around ten percent left.

  As I reach her side, Erinocalypse whispers to me, “I can’t do any more. Right now I’m just countering whatever ElJugador is doing to keep his own health up, but the game won’t let me make the kill shot.”

  “Yeah, we expected that. How’s this guy doing?”

  She rolls her eyes and we both watch as he fires another arrow. It hits ElJugador—his aim is getting better—but there’s so little power behind it that the arrow all but bounces off the player’s arm.

  I shake my head, sending off a Fire arrow at ElJugador and again lighting his cloak on fire. He puts it out without much fuss, but his health stays just at the ten percent mark.

  “We’re so close. We just need one final push. How can we …?”

  She shakes her head. “I don’t know.”

  “Oh!”

  “What?” Erinocalypse asks, but I’m already off and running again toward the front wall of the castle, looking for TexBadass among the mass of soldiers defending Castle Nennius.

  He has been stationed at the very front of the castle wall, down below the edge so he can’t be seen by the attackers, but where he can see the bulk of the defenders, healing them and providing support as needed. I knock into him, unable to stop myself from running so fast once I’ve found him.

  “Whoa, there,” the older man says, putting both hands on me to steady my balance. “What, are you under attack or something?”

  “Ha ha. Funny. We need your help.”

  “What under heaven do you think I’ve been doing, boy?”

  “I mean Erin and me. Come with me. I need you to use that new spell of yours.”

  “The Strength buff? I can just do it now for you.”

  “No, I need you to cast it for a NPC archer.”

  TexBadass shrugs. “Whatever you say. Lead the way.”

  Once we reach the archer, who stays focused on his task even though he continues to fail at it, TexBadass takes a few moments to watch before he begins his cast. I decide not to interrupt the archer in his shooting. There’s always the chance that he’ll get lucky on his own and we can’t waste any time.

  “That fella?” TexBadass asks. “Alright. Here we go.”

  He performs whatever specific hand motion is needed, and though I don’t get any message from the game about it, the NPC glows with a silver inner light once the buff takes hold. He pauses in his aiming to look confusedly at his limbs.

  “What?”

  TexBadass nods, pleased with himself. “Go ahead, boy. Shoot again.”

  The NPC frowns, but obeys. We wait, holding our breath as he nocks an arrow, aims and fires.

  The arrow sails through the air, high over the meadow to where ElJugador stands at the edge of the forest. It pierces the right side of his chest, draining his health almost to nothing and the sorcerer collapses to the ground.

  “Quick,” I command him. “Again. One more right now.”

  As the NPC aims the final shot, TexBadass chuckles.

  “Well, that seemed to work well.” TexBadass sounds almost surprised at himself.

  “What? I thought you’ve used it already.”

  “Well, how was I to know it’d be that powerful? I’ve been saving my mana for healing! If you haven’t noticed, the castle is under attack and I happen to be the only one able to keep all y’all alive.”

  I just shake my head at him.

  The final arrow pierced ElJugador’s neck, finally killing him.

  Almost immediately, chaos erupts at the front of the castle. The defending NPCs let out a small cheer before returning their focus to their enemies. The players in the corridor below release a chorus of groans and cursing, quickly followed by entreaties to keep going, resume the attack.

  Only a few seconds later I hear the thud of the battering ram once again.

  “Another vat of oil!” Captain Crowhurst calls.

  “What happened to the first one?”

  “That blasted sorcerer had them all immune. It was as if an invisible umbrella protected them from the whole steaming lot of it. It just fell to the side and drained out, completely useless.”

  “So now that the sorcerer is dead—”

  “I know
,” he says, coldly. “Don’t you have anywhere else you can possibly be?”

  “Yep. I do.” I back away quickly and decide to take another lap around the top of the castle, looking out for more grappling hooks. Since I was able to find Scaling Weed nearby, it’s not impossible that one of these noobs might too.

  But it seems as though MadMachine has pulled his climbers back, amassing his forces at the gate. I don’t find any further infiltrators along the perimeter of Castle Nennius. When I make it back to the front of the castle, Captain Crowhurst is just getting ready to pour the second vat of boiling oil through the Murder Hole.

  “Ready, men? On my count, lift! Three, two, one!”

  It takes four soldiers to lift the giant, cast iron cauldron of boiling oil up onto the small stone above the murder hole. Each man has both of his hands wrapped in burlap rags as protection against the metal’s heat.

  From below MadMachine shouts, “Hurry! Break through before they can stop us!”

  The battering ram crashes into the door, splintering the wood.

  Captain Crowhurst peers down through the slats of the Murder Hole, watching their progress. He lowers his voice before issuing further instructions.

  “We’re going to pour on my count, when they pull the ram back, when as many of them as possible are under the hole.”

  I peer through the slats. It’s dark in the corridor, and the movement of the small army in the cramped space makes it difficult to see what exactly is happening, but a tiny sliver of light cuts through the enormous door. They’re breaking through. They’re making progress.

  “We have to move,” I tell Captain Crowhurst.

  He ignores me, watching the players below us. He holds up his hand, three fingers raised to silently count down. The soldiers directing the cauldron watch him closely.

  Below us, the players manning the battering ram pull back, readying their assault on the door again.

  “Hurry,” I insist.

  Captain Crowhurst counts down, pulling down each finger one by one. Three. Two. One.

  The men move, slowly tipping the vat over, onto the Murder Hole, boiling oil pouring down through the slats onto the players below.

  When the screaming begins I have to back up. There’s no telling how many of the players are affected since their protection from the sorcerer is gone. I hear the oil hitting the players, but also the ram and the floor, potentially splashing off and searing players who thought they were safe farther away from the front.

  “Don’t stop now, men!” MadMachine insists. “Pick up that ram. We have our orders. BBloodworth and qw3rty will keep your health up. Pick up that ram!”

  I make a mental note to try to target BBloodworth and qw3rty if possible. A fleeting thought has me wondering who they are taking orders from. Who is this employer MadMachine mentioned? Do they just have an open quest to take the castle, or is it something more than that?

  It only takes them a few seconds to take up the battering ram and try again.

  “More oil!” Captain Crowhurst commands.

  I try to aim an arrow through the slats of the Murder Hole, but I don’t have enough light to aim by … until they break through the door even more.

  With the next crash, even from this angle, I can see the guards on the other side, swords ready to defend Castle Nennius from the players that will be inside any second.

  Chapter 42

  I take off from my post at the top of the wall and run so fast down the many staircases in Castle Nennius that at one point, when the corridor turns, I make the split-second decision to run into the stone wall ahead of me, almost ricocheting off in the other direction, rather than slow down. When I left the top of the castle wall, there were only moments before MadMachine and his small army of players were going to be through the castle’s inner gate.

  I dart down the final wide staircase, down into the entrance hall, down to where SteelFeather, Balderdash13 and Callidus are all waiting with the Castle Nennius guards, weapons ready and eager to cut down the invaders.

  “It’s about time,” SteelFeather says when he sees me. “I’ve just been waiting here while you have all the fun.”

  Before I can comment, both of our attentions are pulled to the huge wooden door. The battering ram crashes through, widening the hole and straining the iron bars keeping the gate closed.

  “Here we go,” SteelFeather says, almost to himself.

  The attacking players make one final push and the right side of the immense door crashes to the ground, splintering and sending beams of broken wood everywhere.

  It’s immediately clear which players were under the boiling oil. I don’t know how they are still able to stand, let alone continue their attack. Even with the healers presumably refilling their points, several of the attackers have their hair scalded off, enormous blisters covering the side of their face, holes burnt straight through sleeves with raw red skin underneath.

  And yet they are still determined to take Castle Nennius.

  I pull back to the staircase, giving myself space to attack with my bow and arrow from afar. I don’t yet see the healers, but I am able to fire several shots, halting the progress of the players as they stream into the room through the broken gate. SteelFeather and Balderdash13 are in the thick of the battle. They must be at least ten or fifteen levels higher than all the attacking players, but because of the game’s mechanics, can only diminish their health and can’t kill the attackers altogether.

  I watch, frustrated, as Balderdash13 wields her battle ax deftly, knocking one of the other warriors to the floor and completely demolishing his own defenses. And yet she has to call over one of the NPC guards to kill the player completely.

  Damn it. That means I’ll have to do the same with the healers, when I find them.

  Some of the guards that had been up top of the castle wall now stream past me on the stairs, determined to join their comrades in defending the castle. I grab the arms of two of them as they pass me.

  “Hey, wait. I need you to do something for me.”

  The blond one laughs cruelly. “We don’t have to do anything for you. The minute this is over you’ll be back in manacles.”

  “Fine. Maybe. But it’s never going to be over if we don’t find and kill their two healers. There are two more spell casters that are keeping these invaders alive, and you need to find them.”

  The two soldiers exchange a glance.

  “Very well,” the blond one says. “What do they look like?”

  I scan the crowd and from my higher perch can spot them, hanging back in the corridor under the Murder Hole, outside the front door and halfway hidden behind the battering ram.

  “There.” I point. “Those two. They’re both wearing green cloaks and the one on the right has the wide belt. You see?”

  I nock an arrow and aim, over the heads of most of the warriors, back into the dark corridor. With my Earth arrow, I hit the healer on the right, a woman with dark hair, shaving a small five percent off her health.

  “Them,” I repeat. “We have to take the healers down. Tell the others.”

  As they continue their run down the stairs toward the action, I have time to shoot off several more arrows. The healers spot me and are quick to duck down behind the remains of the battering ram that rests on the ground. I can’t hit them if I can’t see them, but they can continue healing from where they hide.

  “Damn it.”

  Preparing a Fire arrow, I aim for the end of the battering ram closest to where they’re hiding. While I hit my mark, the wooden beam is too dense and damp to catch fire. I need kindling or something near it to catch fire first. Unfortunately, all the broken pieces of heavy door that are strewn about the entrance are surrounded by our own soldiers just as much as the enemy, and I’d be putting our defense at risk.

  “Damn it,” I say again.

  “What?” Erinocalypse is at my elbow and must have heard me muttering to myself as she was hurrying to join the battle.

  “There are
two healers hiding behind the battering ram and I can’t get to them.”

  She looks around the room, chewing on her lip as she thinks. I continue to fire off arrows into the invading players. Even if they will probably be healed, I can still do some damage.

  Erinocalypse turns to me, delighted. “I’ve got it.”

  Before I can even ask her to clarify, there’s a ding in my ear as she sends a message to the party.

  Erinocalypse: Callidus, do your rogue thing and take out the healers

  Callidus: Where are they?

  SirAsh3r: Two of them. Both in green, hiding behind the battering ram. Names are BBloodworth and qw3rty

  Callidus: I’m on it.

  “That’s brilliant,” I tell Erin. “Really. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.”

  “Asher, you’re just still operating as though you’re the only one on your team.” She shakes her head, more amused than disappointed. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take you to remember you don’t have to do all this on your own, but hopefully you don’t get us all killed before you get there.”

  I open my mouth to protest, but she pats my arm and walks down the remaining stairs, unleashing a spell as she goes.

  Enhancement received: Bubble of Protection

  Description: You will sustain -5% damage for the next sixty seconds

  Fine.

  I try to watch for the attack on the healers, but they’re still hiding and Callidus is in full Stealth mode. Instead, I fire arrow after arrow into the attacking players, keeping them from full power, keeping them pinned down, keeping the healers busy.

  There’s a bit of commotion back by the battering ram and both healers come staggering out from their hiding place.

  “There!” I yell across the room. “The green cloaks. Kill them!”

  No fewer than eight NPC soldiers descend on the injured healers. Callidus’s backstab was enough to drive them out of hiding into the arms of the NPCs that could finish them off.