“You need a cutting weapon,” said Nickelo. “I calculate cutting the vampire’s head off would have done the trick, although destroying its heart is probably the better option. Your phase rod is a battering weapon. I calculate you need a sword.”
Glancing around the room, Richard saw elves scattered around the room, battling a dozen vampires. An elf lancer cut the head off one of the vampires with a battle axe. The elf was Skylark. A second vampire came out of the floor behind her and grabbed hold of Skylark’s shoulders. The vampire pulled her back as its long fangs drew close to her neck. With no time to spare, Richard instinctively reached out with his mind to the utility belt on top of the battle suit. Using the power of his mind, he pulled a weapon out of the belt’s holster and into his hand. His fingers wrapped around the grip of what he knew was a Deloris phase pistol. Firing from the hip, the weapon bucked in his hand.
Boom!
A ball of red energy shot out the barrel, catching the vampire in the back of the head and knocking it past Skylark. The elf started to turn to thank Richard, but another vampire began to rise from the ground. With a sweep of her battle axe, she chopped off its head, sending it flying through the air to land beside the head of the first vampire she’d killed. Forgoing thoughts of any thanks, she raised her battle axe and ran to help Minsk and Grapeon, who were locked in combat with vampires of their own.
“Head shots won’t destroy them,” said Nickelo. “I calculate some type of virus is located in their hearts. You either need to blow a hole in their heart large enough to remove the virus or cut off their heads. By the way, you have sixteen rounds left in the pistol. There are two extra magazines in the ammo pouch on the belt. I recommend you save them for a real emergency.”
Wondering what his battle computer considered a real emergency considering what was happening, Richard shoved the pistol in his sword belt and hurriedly made his way to what was left of a shattered display case to his left. Dropping his non-magical dagger and short sword, he replaced them with two similar weapons made from the dwarves’ Holy Metal. Shoving the dagger into his scabbard, he switched the phase rod to his left hand and took up the magic short sword with his right.
“Do not forget the battle suit and utility belt,” said Nickelo.
Richard didn’t plan on forgetting the gear, but at the moment, he had no time to think about anything other than staying out of the vampires’ reaches and keeping as many of the elves alive as possible.
A group of the undead was trying to force their way through the line of elf lancers holding the main doorway to the treasure room. Several of the elves held large shields embedded with glowing stones in both hands as they pushed against the vampires. Other elves swung swords, spears, hammers, and battle axes of Holy Metal over the shield wall in an attempt to drive the undead creatures back. They might have succeeded given time, but the heads of three vampires poked out of the floor behind the elves, followed by the rest of the monsters’ bodies.
“Behind you,” Richard yelled as he lunged forward swinging both phase rod and sword.
Two of the vampires turned and reached for him. The third vampire, a female, grabbed Sergeant Thornbriar by the hair and jerked him back before plunging razor sharp fangs into the elf’s neck. The sergeant fought as best he could by shoving the tip of his longsword over his shoulder and into the throat of the vampire. The vampire screamed and released her grip, but the deed had been done. Blood spurted out of the sergeant’s neck. As the elf fell to the floor, he drew back his sword for a final thrust and plunged it into the vampire’s heart. Both vampire and elf hit the floor one atop the other.
The two remaining vampires charged Richard. One moved to his right and the other to his left. Richard started to kick out with his foot before remembering that only creallium or Holy Metal would do the job. He used both. Lunging with his phase rod, he rammed the tip into the left side of one of the vampire’s chests. Even as he sensed the microscopic explosions of phase energy tearing at the monster’s heart, he swung his sword at the second vampire. The blade of his short sword was razor sharp. It cut into the neck of the monster, passing through flesh and bone. The vampire’s head fell to the floor followed by its body. Wasting no time, Richard turned back to the first vampire. He sensed the heart healing inside its chest. Before the creature completed its healing, Richard cut off its head with the sword of Holy Metal.
“They are breaking through,” yelled an elf.
Richard turned just as the shield wall at the main entrance broke. Two of the elves forming the shield wall were overwhelmed by a wave of undead. The two elves were dragged to the floor kicking and screaming. The remaining elves fell back. Three balls of magic passed over Richard’s head, making their way toward the charging undead. Two of the spells passed through the shimmering bodies and into the hallway beyond, doing no harm. The third spell exploded on contact. A wave of blue energy knocked Richard off his feet and onto his back. He felt something heavy on his chest. It was the bloody body of Sergeant Thornbriar.
The dead sergeant’s eyes suddenly opened, glowing red. Shoving the undead creature off him with a strength born of fear and revulsion, Richard scrambled to his feet. Before the now vampire sergeant could regain his feet, Richard swung his sword. The sergeant’s head went flying one way as his body went the other. Richard felt a moment of sorrow. He’d liked the sergeant. Too much was happening in the room for the moment to last long.
Mia and the two mages were now standing at the main door, flanked by all five monks and Amir. As the mages, monks, and Amir swung their weapons at the undead, Mia shouted words Richard heard and quickly forgot. A bright ball of blue energy formed around the gem at the top of the high priestess’s staff. The spell turned into a glowing blue version of a lion that leaped into the mass of undead. The vampires were scattered as swipes from the lion’s claws knocked them right and left.
While the blue lion held the vampires’ attention, Mia turned and scanned the room. Her eyes found Richard. “How do we escape?” she asked in intergalactic standard. “Which way do we go?”
Why’s she asking me? Richard wondered. How the hell would I know?
Before he could tell the elf he had no idea, a schematic of the building appeared in Richard’s mind. A green path led from a wall at the back of the treasure room. The green path led down and to an exit at the back of the building.
“What’s that,” Richard asked in his shared space. “Is it a secret door? How’d you map that?”
“I didn’t,” said Nickelo. “The map of the building was in the databanks of the battle helmet. I do not know how it got there. Does it really matter?”
Sensing the magic sustaining the blue lion fading, Richard had to admit now wasn’t the time for questions. He waved at Mia. “Follow me. We’re getting out of here.”
Only a few vampires remained alive in the treasure room itself. Amir and the elves had put up a valiant defense, but it had cost them dearly. The headless corpses of seven elves littered the treasure room floor, mixed in with more than a score of other bodies.
Making his way to the stone wall where the green path began, Richard looked for a door. He found none. “There’s a secret door here,” he shouted. “I don’t know how to open it.”
Amir shoved his way past and placed the palm of his left hand on the stone.
Richard sensed emotions more than energy pass from the big man to the stone and back. The stone swung inward to reveal a dark hallway made out of roughhewn stones.
Using the battle helmet’s night-vision filter, Richard led the way inside the pitch-black hall. A vision of him wounded and lying in total darkness as someone fought a battle nearby came to his mind. A flash of light in his memory revealed the head of a dragon so close he could’ve reached out and touched it. He knew the dragon in his memory was a demon. Why the memory came to him now, he didn’t know, but a chill ran down his spine nonetheless.
Rushing through the tunnel, Richard sensed Amir and the other elves following close be
hind. The two mages and Mia were at the rear of the group. Richard’s passive scan indicated a score of undead closing in on the high priestess and her mages. He heard a blast of thunder as the tunnel lit up for a single heartbeat. When the light faded, Richard sensed only four undead closing in on Mia and the others.
“They can take care of themselves,” said Nickelo. “You need to concentrate on getting yourself and the others out alive.”
The hall led to a set of stairs. Richard ran down until they were well below the level of the building’s first floor. Still the stairs continued down, weaving back and forth. The stone walls grew moist as the hall turned into a tunnel. Drops of water fell from the ceiling. Suddenly the stairs leveled off. He hurried forward, leading the elves. He counted only fifteen elves plus Amir and him.
Hopefully we didn’t leave any back in the treasure room as vampires, Richard thought.
“Worry about the dead later,” said Nickelo. “Concentrate on saving the living. Assuming we leave this tunnel alive, do you have any idea how you are going to get out of the city? Between the ring’s sensors and your passive scan, I calculate the invaders have taken over most of the city. The vampires do not appear to be bothering the mercenaries. I calculate a ninety-two percent probability the mercenaries and the undead are working together. I have insufficient data to determine how the mercenaries are controlling the vampires or to what end.”
The floor of the tunnel began filling with water. It was at Richard’s waist before the tunnel began leading them upward. He heard screams ahead. Turning a corner, he almost ran into a wooden door. With both phase rod and short sword in hand, he kicked the door open and stepped out. He saw wooden walls with nets and fishing gear hanging from pegs.
“You are in a shed,” said Nickelo. “Based upon the nets and gear, I calculate we are near the shore.”
Moving to the only door he could see, Richard shoved it open to reveal the backyard of a stone house. The sound of waves mingled with distant screams. The majority of the screams came from the left. The sound of the waves came from straight ahead. He heard no screams in that direction. Using the night vision filter of his battle helmet, Richard made out a long wooden dock two hundred meters away. Tied to the dock was a sloop of war. It was Lieutenant Yasland’s.
A group of sailors holding swords and spears was at the end of the dock where it met the shore. Richard recognized them as the sloop’s captain and his crew.
“You’ve got to admire their courage, but they are doomed,” said Nickelo. “They don’t have a single magic weapon amongst them.”
With little to lose and time of the essence, Richard ran out of the shed and straight toward the dock.
“I am surprised that no vampires are here,” said Nickelo. “Only Yasland and his sailors are at the dock. I calculate that will not last long.”
“Yasland!” Richard yelled as he drew close. “It’s us. We’ve got to go. We’ve got to go now.”
Even through the red tint of the night-vision filter, the face of the sloop’s commander looked ashen. At Richard’s words, the man’s face took on a confused look. The lieutenant raised his sword higher.
“He cannot understand you,” said Nickelo.
Richard glanced around for Amir, but the big man was just exiting the shed with Mia and the two mages.
Tracer shoved her way past Richard and shouted words of gibberish while pointing her sword at the sloop.
The lieutenant shook his head and said several words of gibberish back.
“We don’t have time for this,” Richard said as he raised his phase rod. “I’ll make him understand.”
Turning her head long enough to glance at Richard, Tracer said, “You will do nothing unless I tell you. Sergeant Thornbriar is dead now. I am the senior corporal. I am in charge, not you. I will handle this.”
As soon as they got to the foot of the dock, Tracer exchanged gibberish with the lieutenant. Her words were accompanied by a lot of pointing at the city and the sloop. Yasland finally turned to his men and began snapping orders. By the time Mia, Amir, Derander, Freestrod, and the monks arrived at the docks, the sailors were already hustling the elf lancers onto the ship and untying mooring lines.
When Commander Astradis passed Richard, the monk shoved a bundle of black leather in his arms. “You forgot this.”
The battle suit, Richard thought. He even got the utility belt and grenades.
“I did warn you not to forget them,” said Nickelo. “One of these days you’ll start listening to me?”
“Can it, Nick. I was busy at the time.”
“Fine. Don’t forget to thank the nice monk.”
“Thanks,” Richard told the monk commander.
For the first time since he’d been with the elves, Richard noticed Astradis smile.
“Forget it,” said the monk. “You threw me the dagger when I needed it. Now we are even.”
Before Richard could say anything else, Tracer ordered everyone to get on the ship as she pointed to her left.
Looking to the left, Richard saw a crowd of people a hundred meters away, rushing down the shoreline straight for the dock. A check of his passive scan told him none of the people were alive.
Most of the elf lancers were already on the sloop. Skylark grabbed Richard’s arm and began dragging him down the dock while shouting gibberish. Taking another look at the size of the vampire mob, Richard shook his arm free and ran for all he was worth. He saw Mia run past him in the opposite direction.
The elf priestess stopped a dozen paces from the shore just as the first of the vampires stepped onto the wooden planks. Richard noticed her glance over her shoulder as if to make sure everyone was on board the sloop. They were, Richard included.
Mia slammed the butt of her staff on the dock. A wave of blue magic swept out from the base of the staff, throwing shattered planks and more than a few vampires into the air. By the time the magic ended, a ten-meter section of the dock was missing. Several vampires shimmered and floated into the air as they levitated over the missing section of the dock.
“Oops,” said Nickelo. “I think we have a problem. The bow of the ship is still tied to the dock.”
Sure enough, Richard noticed a mooring line at the bow of the sloop tied around a wooden post. Renewing his grip on the phase rod and short sword, he took a step toward the bow of the ship, preparing to jump back onto the dock and help Mia. A large hand reached out and grabbed his arm.
“No,” said Amir. “You will only get in her way. She will hold them off until the mages have us away from the dock.”
Two sailors ran forward carrying axes. With a quick chop, the mooring line was free. As soon as it was, Master Freestrod cast a spell. The sloop’s sails filled with a strong breeze. At the same time, Derander cast a spell of his own. The spell covered the bow of the ship in blue. The front of the ship lifted out of the water slightly and began turning in the direction of the harbor entrance.
“Breeze and levitation spells,” said Nickelo.
“Thanks,” Richard said. “Never would’ve figured that one out on my own.”
“That is what I am here for,” replied Nickelo, ignoring the obvious sarcasm.
Mia cast another spell from her staff. It shot out and burst into a fireball of blue, catching the levitating vampires in midair. Other vampires on the shore began running into the water. As their heads disappeared below the surface, Richard sensed them moving on the bottom in the direction of the sloop.
“It is going to be close,” said Nickelo. “Be ready.”
Richard figured he was as ready as he could get. All he could do now was wait. Within seconds, the sloop completed its turn. Once it faced the open sea, Derander dropped his levitation spell and cast a second breeze spell. The sloop lurched forward.
“Mia’s still on the doc,” Richard shouted. He turned and tried to get the helmsman’s attention. “You can’t leave her.”
“They aren’t,” said Amir as he pointed toward the dock. “Look.”
Richard and those not involved in handling the ship looked back at the city. It was hard to ignore. Parts of the city were in flames. Even from a distance, hordes of undead could be seen roaming the shoreline. Richard had a feeling it would be a long time before anyone would be able to live in the city again.
“I calculate you would do well not to worry about the city’s future inhabitants,” said Nickelo. “What you should be worried about is what you are going to do next. Do you by any chance have a plan?”
“Not really,” Richard admitted. “That’s what I’ve got you for.”
“Ah, so you are finally beginning to realize how valuable I am.”
Richard shook his head and smiled. “No. I’m just desperate.” He looked around the deck at the bedraggled elves and crew. “I’ve got a feeling we’re all a little desperate.”
Chapter 40 – Tunnels of Drepdenor
____________________
The topsail of the sloop-of-war shone red in the first rays of the morning sun as she made her way farther out to sea. The helmsman stood at the wheel but had yet to be given a destination. His only orders from Yasland were to head west and put as much distance between the ship and Point Departure as possible.
Richard sat cross-legged on the deck near the bow, watching Mia, Derander, Astradis, and Tracer at the stern. They were huddled around Yasland, staring at a map the sloop’s captain held in his hands. The ship’s crew was scattered around the middeck in groups of three or four muttering to each other. What elves had survived the attack on the citadel were clustered on the foredeck with Amir and Richard. Freestrod stood nearby casting resistance spells on the emotionally sensitive female elves.
Wizard Gigantic (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 9) Page 35
