Auction of Souls: Fantasy GameLit RPG Series (Pixel Dust Book 3)

by David Petrie

  “This thing can’t be that hard to find.” Piper leaned on the counter. “Larkin said it was eighty pounds of black powder. That doesn’t sound small.”

  Aawil stalked her way around the room for a moment, stopping near a rack of serving platters. It looked a little crooked against the wall. Piper stepped closer to see if she could help shove it to the side. Before she could approach, the Coin simply reached out and pulled the rack forward like it weighed nothing, sending the entire thing crashing to the ground.

  Piper cringed as she waited for a plate to stop spinning on the floor. Then she took a look at what was behind the shelf.

  “I can’t argue with results.” She sighed, standing in front of a pantry door.

  With little effort, Aawil dragged the fallen shelf away from the door then gestured for Piper to go first.

  “Thanks.” Piper reached for the handle and pulled it open. She immediately wished she hadn’t.

  A chest sat between the shelves of basic ingredients with a wooden cylinder protruding from the lid. Through a window on its front, numbers flicked up and down on little tabs like the display of a vintage cash register.

  They counted down.

  Piper took one step inside before she realized that the bomb wasn’t the only thing in the pantry that meant to do her harm. She swallowed and reached for her pistol as a pair of beady eyes locked with hers from behind the chest.

  Then, there was only screaming.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Corvin swung back and forth gently, like he was lying in a hammock. Although, considering he was being carried by two players that intended to throw him and Kegan off the ship to their deaths, he was far from feeling relaxed.

  “Hey Corvin?” Kegan sounded entirely too casual while dangling from the two players leading the way.

  “Yeah?”

  “What did you say to Piper earlier when she asked you out?”

  Corvin rolled his eyes. “Is now really the best time to talk about this?”

  “Nothing better to do.” Kegan attempted a shrug but couldn’t quite make the gesture work while being carried. “So spill it. What did you say to piss her off so bad?”

  “I already told you.” Corvin’s forehead started to sweat, realizing that five enemy players were listening in on his girl troubles.

  “Yeah, you said you turned her down. But what exactly did you say?”

  “Why didn’t you say yes?” The Blade class walking beside them jabbed Corvin in the side with the tip of his sword’s sheath. “Her avatar’s pretty cute. She ugly out there in the real or something?”

  “Oww.” Corvin wiggled to move away from the man’s weapon. “No, god, I’m not that shallow. She’s underage.”

  One of the players carrying him laughed. “How underage we talking here?”

  “Wow, so that guy’s a creep.” Kegan cringed.

  “Shut up.” The creep swatted at him with his sword. Kegan bent his body to the side to avoid him in that way that cats did when they didn’t want to be petted.

  “But seriously, Corv. What did you actually say to her?”

  “Okay, fine.” Corvin tried to avoid the eyes of the enemy players that were now staring at him expectantly. “All I said was that I was flattered and she was a great girl. I’m sure one day, when she grows up, she’ll make someone very happy, but right now she’s still just a kid, and I can’t see her that way.”

  “Oh, now it makes sense.” Kegan sucked air in through his teeth. “That’s… pretty much the last thing you should have said.”

  Even some of the players carrying them agreed.

  “What should I have said, then?” Corvin’s scalp started to itch as he felt even more self-conscious.

  “Ha, well not that.” Kegan made everything worse by not taking things seriously.

  “She is still a kid. What should I have done, lied to her?”

  “No, and you’re not wrong, she is too young for an adult relationship.” Kegan paused. “But here’s the problem. You’re only twenty. I’m in my forties, so that’s like nothin’. I love ya, man, but you’re not much more adult than she is, in the grand scheme of things.”

  “I’m not a kid.” Corvin spat back.

  “Hurts, huh?” Kegan closed his eyes and let himself swing back and forth. “Nothing worse than having your friends not take you seriously. Now imagine it coming from the first person you’ve had feelings for.”

  Corvin’s mouth fell open. He was right. A bead of sweat rolled down his face from embarrassment.

  “Damn it. I screwed up.”

  “Oh my god.” The Blade class that had poked Corvin with his sword moved to the front of the group. “Are we almost to the engine room? I don’t know how much more of this crap I can take.”

  “No kidding,” the other Blade in the group responded. “We can’t throw these two to their deaths fast enough.”

  “I just can’t believe they’re from House Lockheart.” The faunus holding Kegan’s arms spoke up. “Aren’t these guys supposed to be badasses?”

  “That’s the rumor,” replied the Leaf holding Corvin’s feet.

  “Don’t worry, the engine room is just up this lift,” the enemy Coin added as they entered a room the next room. “We won’t have to listen to them much longer.”

  The lift must have been the one that they had been smuggled to the upper decks on earlier. Seeing the space now, without being stuffed in a crate, it was just a dimly lit room with access to the lift. There weren’t even any doors on to keep someone from falling down the shaft.

  That was when Kegan opened his mouth again.

  “So back to the topic of your inexperience, Corv. How many women have you slept with?”

  “Wha…?” The question hit Corvin like a freight train. “I, ah,” he stammered, knowing full well the answer was a great big zero. His whole body proceeded to heat up worse than before. Even his palms began to sweat.

  Suddenly, the player holding his wrists adjusted his grip, having trouble holding on as Corvin’s body became increasingly moist. Corvin’s eye widened as he realized what Kegan was doing. He was a genius. A complete jerk, but a genius nonetheless. Kegan wasn’t trying to make him uncomfortable, he just wanted to make him sweat.

  “I’m sorry for this,” Kegan apologized for what was about to come next. “But I assume from your stammering that you’re still a virg–”

  A fist cut off his words as the faunus carrying him grabbed both his wrists in one hand, then cracked Kegan in the face with his gauntlet. “Will you please shut up!”

  With that, they all froze as a crimson glow faded from Kegan’s jaw. Each of member the Silver Tongues team stared at him as a wave of realization swept across their faces.

  “Yeah, the ban isn’t working down here.” Kegan smiled before adding. “Now!”

  Corvin wasted no time, kicking one foot forward and twisting his body. His wrists immediately slipped free. He spun in the air, getting his feet under him so that he could land on all fours. The maneuver would have been impressive if it hadn’t left him exposed. A kick to the ribs sent him back to the floor.

  At least he’d caused a good diversion for his partner.

  Kegan used the chaos to his advantage, yanking his feet toward his chest to pull the player holding his legs off balance. He immediately kicked the man in the stomach. The move freed Kegan’s feet and launched him back into the faunus that held his wrists. The burly player stumbled back, losing his grip and bumping into the unsuspecting Blade class behind him. The player screamed as the impact sent him falling into the open lift shaft.

  Yeah, that’s definitely a safety hazard. Corvin pushed himself up and scrambled to draw his weapon. Before he could get it free, the remaining Blade class attacked, the elf plunging his sword through his shoulder. It cleaved away thirty percent of his health and pinned him to the floor face down. Corvin did the math based on the damage, figuring the Blade’s level at around ninety.

  Damn! Corvin glanced back to check on
his friend.

  Kegan wasn’t faring any better. There were too many of them. He tried to pull an arrow from his quiver to at least do some stabbing, but all he managed to do was scatter them across the floor. The faunus grabbed him by the shirt with his gauntlet to hoist him up, then slammed him back to the floor. The burly Shield dropped down, placing his knee on Kegan’s chest to keep him from getting up again.

  Kegan struggled to get away, his head hanging inside the lift shaft. He snatched a loose arrow from the floor and stabbed it into the Shield’s thigh. The heavy faunus didn’t even flinch. He only glanced at his health and continued to hold him down.

  “Nice try, but that only took ten percent.” The faunus flicked his eyes to the Coin standing nearby, then over to the button beside the lift shaft. “Call the elevator. Gonna shut this one up for good.”

  The Coin slapped a hand on the call button, then stood by to wait. From the look on Kegan’s face, Corvin assumed the lift wasn’t far away. There was no time to worry about his friend, though; he had his own problems. He was still pinned to the floor and the enemy Leaf was reaching for an arrow.

  “Can’t send your pal to respawn alone, now can we?” The Leaf drew back his bow and took aim at Corvin’s head. “Good luck with the girl troubles, though.”

  Corvin started to push himself off the floor, shoving his shoulder further up the sword that held him down. Another kick to the ribs put him back down. Again, there were too many of them.

  Suddenly, out of nowhere, a pulse spell slapped the Leaf in the face, disrupting his aim and causing him to release the arrow. It slammed into the floor beside Corvin’s head. As to where the spell had come from, he had no idea.

  It didn’t matter, Kegan was already out of luck.

  From the corner of his eye, Corvin watched in horror as the lift came into view at the top of the open shaft. It was a slab of solid stone covered in levitation runes. It slowed as it reached their level, lowering itself toward Kegan’s head.

  Another spell materialized out of nowhere, a plume of gray smoke swirling around the Shield holding Kegan down. As soon as it reached the faunus’ head, a blue glyph appeared, hanging over him for a second before fading away. From his time as a Venom mage, Corvin recognized the spell and shouted as loud as he could.

  “He’s fragile against piercing damage!”

  Kegan responded in an instant, ripping the arrow from the Shield’s thigh and stabbing it back in repeatedly. With the fragile debuff adding twice the damage, the faunus couldn’t afford to stay there. He let go, giving Kegan just enough time to roll away from the slab of stone that was about to take his head off.

  Corvin used the commotion to his advantage, kicking at the Blade that had him pinned. Another ten percent of his health slipped away as the sword pulled free of his shoulder. He rolled over and scurried back across the floor like a crab. Drawing his sword, Corvin finally caught his breath and stood up.

  Kegan did the same, grabbing a handful of arrows off the ground and facing off against the faunus. Judging by the faded coloring of the class emblem on his hand, the Shield was close to death after the repeated stabbing.

  That was when a spellcraft menu illuminated a hooded form standing at the edge of the dimly lit space. Corvin blinked once at the figure’s low-level gear. It was obviously Seven.

  She swiped her hand through the glyphs in the air and cast another fragility spell on the Blade Corvin was facing.

  Without a lot of options, Kegan grabbed the Coin by one of the straps on his leather chest piece and yanked the player off balance. Using a bit of leverage, he swung him into the lift while holding onto the player so that the momentum sent him slamming into the floor buttons on the inside of the shaft. The player bounced off the wall, and fell to the stone plate. The surprise on his face was evident as the slab began to rise.

  “That’ll keep him busy for a minute.” Kegan brushed his hands together.

  The faunus, still near death, retrieved a health vial from his pouch. A well-timed pulse spell from Seven swatted it from his grip. It splattered on the wood-paneled wall behind him. He brought up his gauntlet and ducked behind it. A protective construct of energy blossomed in front of him.

  Kegan let out an annoyed growl. There wasn’t much he could do to get around the barrier, or even fight back against the others without his bow.

  The rest was up to Corvin.

  “Little help!” His back hit the wall as the elven Blade shoved forward. At the same time, the Leaf got his bow back up. The player took aim at Corvin, then, he smirked and turned to aim at Seven.

  “Duck!” His eye bulged as the Leaf fired. With Seven’s level deficiency, a single attack was all it would take to put her down. She weaved to the left but it was too late, the arrow hit her side with a sound like tearing cloth and her body fell to the floor.

  “Shit!” Corvin cursed as he waited for her body to dissipate. His heart rose a second later when it didn’t. The arrow must have only hit her robe.

  Like an ambush predator, she flipped back over and tossed something into the air. A hatchet spiraled past the enemy Leaf, shaving off a lock of his hair as it flew through the space.

  “Ha, you missed!” He drew another arrow from his quiver.

  Seven said nothing, probably trying to keep her voice hidden from her housemates. Corvin spoke for her.

  “She wasn’t aiming at you.”

  The Leaf cocked his head to the side, then turned to find the faunus behind him drop to his knees, a hatchet protruding from the side of his head. He must have been close enough to death for the blow to finish him off. Suddenly, the small hand ax uprooted itself from his body and flew back across the room to land in Seven’s outstretched hand.

  Corvin couldn’t help but be impressed. For that matter, even the enemies in the room took a moment to stare. It was short lived.

  Kegan let out a ridiculous yell as he charged the other Leaf, a pair of arrows in his hands as weapons. He tackled the player to the floor, knocking his bow out of hands to level the playing field.

  Corvin pushed his opponent away, getting enough room to move without the wall against his back. Hoping to draw the enemy Blade away from Seven, he jumped backward over Kegan toward the lift. The player gave chase, hopping over Kegan to keep Corvin in front of him.

  That was when the elevator returned behind him, passenger included.

  A loud pop, followed by a quick poke of simulated pain reminded Corvin of where the Silver Tongues’ Coin was. He didn’t have to turn around to know that he had just been shot with a grappling hook. His shoulder yanked backward with a dull throb as the Coin reeled him in toward the elevator.

  The elf he was currently fighting didn’t let up either, as he took a swipe at his chest. It was all Corvin could do to leap away and let the Coin’s line reel him in. Allowing the momentum to take him, he flipped his sword back and tried to drive it through the enemy behind him waiting in the lift. No luck. He stabbed the wood paneling on the elevator shaft’s wall with a thunk as the Coin weaved out of the way. Corvin yanked back, struggling for an instant before his sword came free of the wood.

  He brought the weapon up just in time to deflect the Blade class barreling toward him. The Coin didn’t let up either, forcing Corvin to pull his scabbard off his belt to block a dagger coming from the other side. He ducked as both enemies swung for his head, then he leaped to escape the lift.

  Again, no such luck.

  The Coin yanked back on the grappling line that was still hooked in his shoulder. Falling, Corvin pivoted on his heel, just enough to flip himself around and slash at the player’s legs. The Coin let out a yelp and fell forward, landing part way out of the lift. Corvin wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass by. He rolled over to hold the man down and threw his scabbard at the buttons on the inside of the lift shaft.

  Panic surged through his captive’s eyes as the slab of stone began to rise again. The Coin let out a sudden scream that was cut short by a horrible crunch as they passed
the next floor. A burst of shimmering particles flooded the lift to keep the player’s brutal death from being too graphic. Corvin gave a silent thanks to the developers for that detail. He was sure he didn’t want to see what sort of mess that would have been. Fortunately, there was no time to stop and think about it. There was still one more enemy in the lift.

  The elf drew back his sword and Corvin flipped himself back to his feet to dodge. It was the best he could do in the cramped space. He tried to ignore the feeling of vertigo caused by the lift’s open walls, the wood paneling moving down as the stone plate rose within it.

  Finally, he struck back, his sword meeting his opponent’s in a clash of steel that echoed up the shaft above them. With so little room to work, the fight devolved into a brawl, Corvin using anything he could to land a hit. He cracked the elf in the head with the butt of his sword, receiving a kick to the gut in return. On instinct, he reached for the wall for support, its moving surface throwing him right back down to the stone slab under his feet.

  He swiped at his enemy’s feet, scraping the opposite wall with the tip of his sword. It stuck into the wood for an instant, before getting caught between the wall and the slab of stone. The combination of the two surfaces moving opposite each other, ripped the weapon’s handle for Corvin’s hand and flung it into the air. It bounced off the other wall and ricocheted around the shaft.

  The elf across from him let out a squeal as the airborne katana flew at his head. He raised his sword to block, but the angle was bad and he took a slash to his wrist that forced him to drop his weapon. It clattered to the floor along with Corvin’s.

  Using the distraction to his advantage, Corvin rolled and snatched his sword off the stone. He thrust upward and drove a critical attack home, the hilt of his katana coming to rest against his opponent’s chest.

  The fight was over.

  Then… it wasn’t.

  Corvin held still, waiting for the player’s body to go limp and dissipate. The elf seemed to be doing the same, both of them standing there awkwardly as floors passed one after another. Finally coming to the realization that something was off, Corvin glanced down at where his sword was buried in the player’s chest. He let out a shocked gasp as the wound glowed a pale blue rather than crimson to indicate damage.