The Builder's Wrath (The Legendary Builder Book 4)

by J. A. Cipriano

  “It’s not thirty percent, it’s twenty-five percent.” Yes, I winced as I said it, but she didn’t bludgeon me.

  “How will we defend ourselves?” Michelle asked, gesturing back at the field of dead Darkness warriors. “They did that in ten seconds.”

  “You’ve defended Heaven for millennia,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “I’m sure you’ll be okay sparing them for a few hours.”

  “What if you get stuck in a time vortex for a year or something?” Michelle replied, and while I wanted to tell her she was being crazy, that’d already happened to me. Twice.

  “Then you’ll be fine.” I sighed. “If I don’t do this, we may not find the Grail, which means I won’t complete the achievement, nor get enough legitimacy with Heaven to break the marks Dred placed on you.” I took a step forward, putting my hands on my hips and stared down the Archangel of Justice. “And that means I can’t save Gabriella.”

  “For all you know Gabriella has already given up her mark.” Michelle glared right back at me. “There are people here who need your help, your protection.”

  “Michelle, I wasn’t asking permission. I was telling you what is going to happen.” I touched my chest with one hand. “They’re my knights.”

  Michelle looked like she wanted to argue, but instead, she merely nodded. “If that’s how you really feel Arthur, then go.” She gave me a dismissive wave.

  “Michelle,” I said, and she turned her back on me.

  “Go, Arthur.” She walked away, leaving me standing there surrounded by hulking statues.

  “Fine,” I growled, but she didn’t even respond. Sighing, I glanced at the knights. “Are you three ready?” I nodded to Galahad, Percival, and Bors.

  “Yes, my liege,” Galahad said, stepping forward. “I will fight with bravery and courage and help you to recover the grail.”

  “I’ll do those things, but with style and panache,” Bors said, stepping forward. Then he did a little flourish with his sword before sheathing it.

  “I agree with Michelle,” Percival said, glancing back at the archangel. “But if this is your request, Arthur, I shall help you find the grail.” He stepped forward as well. “Let us make haste and find victory.”

  “To victory!” Galahad cried, pumping his fist in the air and causing the other nine knights to break out in cheer.

  “Victory!”

  “Well, I’m glad you guys are pumped. Let’s go,” I said, turning and heading back toward the Plains.

  It took a lot longer to reach them than I’d expected, and I was surprised to find the landscape had changed. Where before it’d been pretty much unclaimed wildlands, now I saw different trade towns sprinkled throughout busily harvesting lumber, rock, and all sorts of other things. Man, Buffy had really been busy.

  “Only as we passed by a mine, I remembered I’d never gotten the Heavenly Gold for Sam. While I wasn’t sure where it was, and a cursory inspection of the mine with Mammon’s gauntlets yielded little results, I resolved to find her some. I’d just, you know, probably have to ask where it was.

  That was yet another thing I had to take care of. After all, what good was a wall with a giant hole in it? Sure, we’d managed to repel the Darkness’s attacks thus far, but I was sure that would change, given enough time.

  Now wasn’t the time to think about the defense though. If I did, I might start to worry Michelle was right. Sure, I’d left nine of the knights behind, but what no one else knew was that the knights had a buff that increased their strength when they were together, and I had decreased their strength by twenty-five percent when I’d taken Percival, Galahad, and Bors.

  It was a risk, but I had to do it. After all, if I didn’t, I might not find the grail, and I had to find the grail. It was the only way I could save Gabriela, and I was damned sure going to do that if it was the last thing I did.

  “The plains don’t look any different,” Percival said as we approached. “What should we be looking for, my liege?”

  “I’m not sure…” I scratched my head as I looked around. He was right, it all looked the same. “There’s got to be a clue though.”

  “Then we shall find it!” Galahad cried, charging forward to inspect one of the statue bases. The others glanced at him, shrugged, and then went to do the same.

  As I watched them search, something about the line in the book kept bugging me.

  The way to the grail has been lost but is now found.

  It had to be a reference to the knights, since that achievement had been Those who were Lost are Found, but at the same time, nothing was really standing out to me.

  I turned my eyes back to the knights and saw both Galahad and Bors were glowing. Not a lot or anything, but as my gaze flickered between them, I figured out why. They were standing near the pedestals they had stood on prior to being awoken. Those were glowing with the same color. Red for Galahad and blue for Bors. Interesting.

  Percival, on the other hand, wasn’t glowing, but he also wasn’t near his pedestal.

  “Percy,” I called, and when the knight turned to me, I pointed toward where he’d once stood. “Can you go over there?”

  “Back to my rest?” he asked, curious, and as he spoke, he glanced at his fellow knights. “Why in the blazes are you two glowing?”

  “I’m glowing?” Bors said, looking down at himself. “By Scott! I am glowing.”

  “What sort of foul trickery is this?” Galahad cried, slapping at his chest. “Show yourself, foul cur! I shall fight you with bravery and honor!”

  “Timeout. I think it’s just the key to what we need to do next.” I tried to calm them, but it didn’t seem to work, so instead, I just nodded to Percival. “Can you please go stand over there?”

  “As you wish, my liege.” The knight moved to his pedestal, and as he did, he began to glow with emerald light.

  “We’re standing in a triangle,” Bors said, glancing at his comrades before pointing to the disc that had once sat in the middle. “Do you see that?”

  I followed his finger and found I did see that. Well, sort of. Sitting in the spot the disc used to occupy was what looked like a glowing ethereal keyhole. That had most definitely not been there before. It was a little weird, but then again, everything here was a little weird.

  “I’m going to check it out,” I said, pulling out Caliburn just in case the magic keyhole got any funny ideas. Only, the moment I unsheathed the blade, it began to glow. The symbols etched into the steel came to life with red, blue, and green energy.

  With each step I took, the ground began to shake violently, so that by the time I reached the keyhole, I was having trouble standing. There was just one problem. Well, one other problem. I needed a key, and I didn’t have one.

  Still, the sword had worked to awaken the knights. Maybe it would work here?

  I wasn’t sure, but since I had no other ideas, I decided to go for it. After all, what was the worst that could happen?

  Actually, I didn’t want to think about that because I was really sure the Lady of the Lake wasn’t going to give me another sword, and Dred seemed to be using his.

  Taking a deep breath, I raised Caliburn, and then I did what I did best. I shoved my sword into a deep, dark hole.

  At first, nothing really happened other than the ground stopped shaking. Then an earsplitting shriek filled my ears. Light began to spill from the keyhole, right before it exploded in a flash of golden light that flung me onto my ass.

  More shrieks filled the air, and as they did, the space in front of me began to crack like a car windshield.

  “My liege, are you okay?” Galahad called, and I was sure he was about to run to me, but if he did that, I didn’t know what would happen. Besides, I was okay. At least for now.

  “I’ve got it,” I said, getting to my feet. Then I took a deep breath and reached out toward the cracked split in reality. Touching that void sucked the heat right out of my hand even though I was wearing magic gauntlets and enshrouded in ethereal armor. That
did not bode well.

  “Who dares disturb my rest?” asked a voice from on high, and as I turned to look heavenward, something hit me in the balls.

  Pain and the urge to vomit up my entire soul hit me as I collapsed to the dirt and found myself staring at a Scottish terrier wearing a green feathered hat.

  “What the fuck did you do that for?” I croaked in the manliest way possible as my knights charged forward, ready to defend my honor. As I raised my hand to stop them, the glow left each of them.

  I turned a worried eye back to the weird portal, but thankfully it was still there.

  “I needed to make sure you were a dude,” the terrier replied, sitting down in front of me. “You passed.”

  “You could have fucking asked,” I cried while getting to my feet and signaling for my knights to let me handle this.

  “That wouldn’t be fun.” The terrier tipped his hat to me. “Pleased to meet you.”

  “But, my liege, he has besmirched you,” Galahad said, axe already in hand. “Let me carve honor out of his hide.”

  “It’s cool.” I turned back to the terrier. “Why did you need to know I was a guy?”

  “Because if you were a chick, stepping into the Void of Desperation would rip your ovaries out through your nose.” He gave me a horrified look. “It does not seem pleasant.”

  “Great.” I took a deep breath, trying to ignore my sudden anxiety. “Why is it called the Void of Desperation?”

  “Because only the truly desperate venture within.” He gave me a wide grin. “And bro, I hate to say this, but you seem pretty fucking desperate.” He shrugged. “It’s cool though. I mean, why else would you be seeking the Holy Grail?”

  “Is it hard to get or something?” I asked, looking at him. “I mean, lots of people seek the Holy Grail.”

  “Dude, are you being serious right now?” He looked at me like I was made of stupid. “It’s in a place called the Void of Desperation which itself is in a place called the Plains of Desolation.”

  “Maybe it’s like Iceland?” And when he stared blankly at me, I continued. “You know, made to seem worse than it is.”

  “Yeah, okay buddy.” He pointed to the portal, and as he did, it opened into a yawning maw of a cave filled with screams. “That place is literally filled with suck.” He shrugged. “Still, what you seek is in there. Mind the cave trolls.”

  “Cave trolls?” Percival said before spitting on the ground as we moved to enter the cave. “Man, I hate cave trolls.”

  “You and me both, brother.” I nodded. “But I guess we’ll deal with them, anyway.”

  “How many have you faced before, my liege?” Galahad asked moving beside me and peering into the cave. “I once slew fifty in a single blow.”

  “You always go on about that,” Bors said, elbowing me in the side. “It’s true, but just barely. He cut a rope that caused a bunch of lit dynamite to fall on a troll quinceanera.”

  “Trolls have quinceaneras?” I asked, sort of confused because that just seemed silly.

  “The best quinceaneras,” Percival added. “The only problem with them is the trolls.”

  “Anyway,” I said, turning to the terrier. “Do we just go inside?”

  “Yes.” The terrier bobbed his head. “Well, you and one other only. Two will have to stay out here to keep the portal from closing.” He shrugged as I opened my mouth to bitch. “Hey, I don’t make the rules.”

  “Allow me to accompany you, my liege,” Galahad said, thumping his chest.

  “Agreed,” Bors and Percival said in unison.

  “Awesome,” I said, glancing at Galahad. “Well, come on then. Let’s kick some troll butt.”

  30

  The first thing I noticed upon entering the cave was the smell of blood and despair. I shivered as it washed over me like a warm breath. Worse, I could barely see a damned thing.

  Still, I was the Builder, and I had a bunch of awesome gear and a Knight of the Round Table. I could do this. Pushing my fears away, I called some of my power into Caliburn, causing it to glow bright enough for me to see. Only, it didn’t reveal much. Just gray stone walls and a dirt floor.

  “Smells like a bucket of awesome down here,” I said sarcastically, glancing over my shoulder at Galahad.

  “We should make haste my liege.” The knight inhaled sharply. “That is the smell of cave trolls, and many at that.”

  “Sounds good,” I mumbled, sucking in a deep breath to calm myself as I gripped Caliburn and moved forward. The space was so small it bordered on making me claustrophobic.

  We walked for only a few moments before coming to a sharp bend. While the smell of cave troll had grown with each step, I still hadn’t seen any of the creatures, nor heard the sounds of a party, which was good I supposed. Still, the whole thing was making me anxious.

  When I was fighting, I could ignore how scared I was. Sure, I was strong, and I was reasonably sure I could take a cave troll, but at the same time, I hadn’t fought one. For all I knew, they’d be invulnerable or something.

  “Their smell grows stronger, my liege,” Galahad said, reaching out to stop me from turning the corner. “Perhaps it would be better if I led.”

  “Why is that?” I asked, glancing at him. “Do you know the way or something?”

  “I do not, but I worry it may trapped. If one of us is to fall to the vile trolls’ treachery, better it be me.” He nodded. “You are much too important to the cause.”

  I wanted to argue with him, but at the same time, he was a walking statue inhabited by a Knight of the Round Table. If his happy ass wanted to go first, that was fine with me.

  “Okay, you can go—”

  A hand the size of a walrus grabbed Galahad and pulled him around the corner.

  “Galahad!” I cried, racing after him, only to find him behind dragged across the ground. The giant hand was still wrapped around him, but it was attached to a tendril of serpentine flesh that snaked out into the darkness.

  Without thinking, I called up a palm full of Hellfire and flung it into the darkness. As it flew through the air, shrieks filled my ears, and I saw huge, lumbering shapes cower away from the light of my fireball.

  As the hellfire slammed into the far wall in a cascade of sparks, the shadows seemed to come alive with activity.

  I lashed out with Caliburn, cutting through something I could barely see. My blade met with fleshy resistance an instant before hot blood splattered across my face, but I didn’t let that stop me. I charged toward Galahad and unleashed a sapphire blast right into the tentacle.

  It was strange because the tentacle turned to stone a second before impact and shattered into a billion pieces. The hand holding Galahad spasmed, and as it did, the knight tore free, leaping to his feet, axe already whipping about.

  His weapon slammed into something with a wet thunk right before the knight got batted aside like a rag doll. As he rolled into the darkness, I realized the problem. These things needed dark, and the main reason they hadn’t really attacked me was because my sword’s glow was keeping them away.

  “I’m okay!” Galahad called, but I could hear the strain in his voice. Still, his words gave me a target, and I lobbed more hellfire in his direction. As my attack exploded across the ceiling, Galahad severed another serpentine arm and backpedaled toward me, axe swinging like a helicopter blade.

  “We need more light,” I said as the knight approached. That will vanquish all of them.

  “If it is light you need than light you shall have!” Galahad raised his left hand toward the ceiling. As he did, a pulsing ball of pure energy appeared within it. The spell wasn’t enough to light the room, maybe just a few feet on either side, but that was because it was huge. “Quick, take them out, my liege. I will hold the spell as long as I can.”

  I glanced at him, and as I did, I realized that wouldn’t be long.

  Name: Galahad

  Experience: 14,768

  Health: 143/181

  Mana: 32/43

  P
rimary Power: None selected

  Secondary Power: None selected

  Strength: 93/100

  Agility: 88/100

  Charisma: 16/100

  Intelligence: 16/100

  Special: 27/100

  Unique Ability: Knight of the Round Table

  He just didn’t have the mana to keep the light going long enough for me to kill a football stadium full of trolls. Then again, he had some experience…

  As Galahad’s mana ticked down, I quickly glanced through his skill trees, looking for his light spell.

  Light

  Skill: 2/10.

  The user can summon a ball of light capable of lighting an area skill times 2 meters in diameter.

  Right below the skill was an upgrade tab, but I ignored it because even if I maxed the skill, it wouldn’t light this room.

  No, what I needed was something else, and I found it a moment later.

  Solar Flare: This Ability allows the user to create a blinding flash of light, blinding all opponents within 20 meters of the user.

  Requirements: Special: 50+, Intelligence: 40+

  Cost: 4,000 Experience

  “Perfect,” I said, quickly upgrading his Special and Intelligence and then buying the Solar Flare skill. “Why don’t you hit them with a Solar Flare?”

  Galahad looked at me in confusion for a moment before understanding dawned across his stony face. He dropped his hand, causing the light spill to vanish before putting the back of his hands to his forehead. “You may want to close your eyes, my liege.”

  It was still bright behind my eyelids.

  I didn’t open my eyes until well after the smell of smoking corpses filled my nose. As I looked around, using Caliburn to light my way, I saw all the trolls had been turned into charred husks.

  “I think I beat my record,” Galahad said, moving closer to me. “How did you teach me that attack?”

  “I just used your experience to buy it.” I waved my hand dismissively as I looked around. Part of it felt too easy, but then again, I wasn’t the one that was supposed to be in here. No, the Destroyer was supposed to be here, and he couldn't give skills to the knights.