“What the hell!?” Gerald asked the air.
“Behind you!” Alburet shouted, the first to see the five large decaying Golems that had come out of the wreckage.
Gerald spun around, taking in the sight of the undead mobs. “Skippy, you bastard,” Gerald breathed.
The Golems were the largest the party had ever seen, bigger even than the ones they had glimpsed inside the ruins of Peace. What made matters worse was that each of them had sparks of different colored energy popping off the many spikes and studs that covered their decaying bodies.
“Acid, fire, ice, electric, and dark,” Marysue guessed as she took a deep breath. “They’re all level one hundred, which puts them well above us. Be careful with this, Gerald.”
“Tiny, take the Dark and Acid Golems; they should do minimal extra damage to you. TJ, hit the Electric one. I’ll hold Fire and Ice and hope they cancel each other out. Everyone focus on TJ’s first. We’ll figure out our plan from there.”
All five of the mobs locked eyes on Gerald, or rather, on the Guild emblem on his shield. With another earth-shaking roar, the five of them rushed at the Defender.
“Going hot,” Bob laughed as Fire Bursts caught all of the Golems. Three of them took minimal damage, the Ice Golem took the amount it should, and the Fire Golem started to glow.
“Bob, single target,” Alburet yelled as he watched the Fire Golem’s reaction, his inner alarm going off.
“Right,” Bob called back, switching to the Electric Golem.
Tiny rushed ahead of Gerald and area taunted the five Golems, dragging them away from the party. Gerald single targeted the Fire Golem— which looked empowered— and pulled it away from Tiny, then repeated the single taunt on the Ice Golem. TJ targeted the Electric Golem and dragged it back to the gate, positioning it for the others. Tiny focused on keeping the attentions of the Acid and Dark Golems.
“Tiny, turn them around. Gerald, you too. Then back them up a dozen feet. TJ, take a few steps back, as well,” Marysue ordered, trying to get the tanks positioned for her area heal to catch them all.
“I can nay do anything to them up here,” Stacia said from beside Alburet.
“Once everyone is in place, drop down and use your blades,” Alburet told her as he conjured and tossed off Fire Blasts. “Be ready to use Comforting Touch and your Drain as needed.”
“Aye.”
Karen had appeared behind TJ’s Golem, her blades sinking in where the kidneys should be. No sooner had she done so then small jolts of electricity arced up her blades and into her hands. “Gah!”
Fluff was also jolted when she raked the Golem with her claws. She’d not been hit as badly as Karen, but only because her claws were plated with less conductive metal than Karen’s blades. Marysue grimaced, watching them taking damage to inflict damage.
“TJ, back up another five steps,” Marysue said so Fluff and Karen would be inside the area. “Thank you, Peace and Mother,” Marysue said as she unleashed Halo, healing all of her allies, including the Infernals.
Stacia landed next to Marysue with a frown on her face. “Iffin I go in, it will be worse for you. I can nay do enough physical damage to make up for the damage I be takin’.” Looking up, Stacia called out, “Master, let me go and summon the Imps. I be of nay use here.”
Grimacing, Alburet dismissed Kitten, but kept Stacia, thinking she might be able to help with healing. Once his mana stabilized, Alburet sighed as he used Imp Storm and the sky was suddenly full of Greater Imps. “Burn down the electric one first,” he commanded the swarm.
Gerald took the hits from the two mobs on him as the group did their best to whittle down TJ’s Golem. He was very glad he had taken the two he had; each tried to leave a debuff on him, but the Heated Metal was canceled out by Frostbite, which was in turn canceled by Heated Metal. Glancing at Tiny, he wondered if the Destroyer could withstand the attacks from his mobs as long as necessary.
Tiny was having the worst time of any of them. The Acid Golem was debuffing him and dropping his armor, while the Dark Golem was stacking a debuff that lowered the amount of healing he was getting from Marysue’s Light Magic.
“Master, I will need to switch out soon,” Tiny rumbled in warning.
“TJ, switch out with Tiny,” Alburet called out as another Fire Blast hit the Electric Golem. “For fuck’s sake, these things have way too much life. Stacia, Comforting Touch on Tiny, then top back up with Drain on the Electric one.”
“It’s like a damned mini-raid,” Karen grumbled as another jolt went up her arm when she stabbed her target again.
“The guards would never have survived,” Fluff growled, slicing more grooves into the same Golem.
Understanding blossomed on Gerald’s face. “Stacia, warn the Guild to not enter any property that is abandoned,” he called out.
“Aye... Darkness,” Stacia breathed, understanding and pulling out her Mindstone. “Ya think they left more of these scattered throughout the noble houses?”
“At least some of them,” Gerald replied as the cooling sensation from the Ice Golem quenched the heat from the Fire Golem. “Mary, are you going to be able to hold out?”
“I’ll have to use some potions, but I think we can manage,” she called back as another area heal washed over the group. “If it wasn’t for the staff, I don’t know if I could have kept us going this long though, honestly.”
Tiny sighed with relief as TJ took over his two mobs and he switched his focus to the Electric Golem. “I will switch back once the debuffs fall off.”
“Understood,” Gerald nodded. “If need be, we can pass the Golems around to make sure the debuffs stay off. The pair on me should be kept together, though.”
The Imps had done their best and taken a chunk of health off the Electric Golem, but when they vanished, it still had half of its life remaining. “We’ve got this,” Alburet said.
“Are you okay in there?” someone called from outside the barrier.
Stacia turned to find Roberto and a contingent of guards all watching them. “We be fine. But we be believin’ tha’ more traps like this be left at other manors.”
Roberto blanched. “Spread out. Go to every manor that was to be searched by the Guilds and stop them from entering any that are empty,” he told his men, who took off running. “We’ll be holding here just in case this barrier falls.”
“Aye.” Kitten appeared beside Stacia as she was Copied. “Iffin ya need to stop another outbreak, we be understandin’ tha’, too.”
Roberto winced, “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
After another minute, the mobs were switched between the tanks again. Now Gerald had the Acid and Dark Golems, Tiny took the Fire and Ice Golems, and TJ took the Electric Golem back.
It took another minute before the Electric Golem fell over dead. “Acid next,” Gerald called out.
It took them over ten minutes to take the Golems down, doing their best to balance the stacking debuffs on the tanks. A few times, Alburet was sure they were about to wipe, but they somehow managed to stay alive. The Ice Golem was the last to die, and the barrier vanished when it fell.
The guards cheered, and the group sat down to rest and let their health and mana come back. Roberto advanced on them, handing Marysue a few potions to replace the ones she had used. “You did well. None of our normal squads could have taken those Golems. I need to know what happened to make these things appear.”
“They did it,” Corporal Heinz said from nearby. “They sent the Imp inside and it summoned the undead.”
Roberto looked at the Corporal like he was an idiot. “Infernals don’t summon undead.”
“I triggered a trap inside,” Bob said, landing next to Alburet to rest his wings. “My Copy did, anyway. When the trap sprang, I was killed by the five different energies, and I saw one of their hands briefly before the Copy faded.”
“You went inside?” Roberto asked Alburet.
“As long as we don’t damage the property, the writ lets us do
so to find evidence for the King. Honestly, I was hoping Skippy was still here.”
“Okay, so those involved with the attempt on the King’s life may have left traps for us? Traps that involve undead, and seem to tie them even closer to Stein? I need to report this. The King will be issuing a change to the writs soon.”
“We won’t be entering another home,” Gerald said.
The sound of whistles in the distance brought everyone to their feet. “Damn it, no,” Roberto cursed as he took off running with the guards toward the commotion.
“After them,” Gerald said. “We have the best chance to contain these things.”
Alburet, Stacia, Kitten, Bob, and BJ took to the air. “We’ll go find it. We won’t get involved until you’re there.”
“Right,” Gerald said as he trailed the others running after the guards.
~*~*~
Alburet followed Bob and BJ, who were faster in the air. Ten streets over, they found a barrier of similar make, but green in color. Landing on the street near a group of guards, Alburet could see Ironhand’s party doing their best to handle the Golems.
Sending a message to Gerald, Alburet watched the fight and knew that it was going badly for his allies. “What happens if you touch the barrier?” Alburet asked the nearest guard.
“It’s acid,” the guards replied, not taking his eyes from the fight. His grip tightened on his sword. “Klenok dissolved when he was caught in it.”
Dismissing Tiny, who was running toward them, Alburet pointed inside the barrier. “Come to me, Tiny.”
Tiny appeared in a puff of smoke inside the barrier. “It works,” Alburet grinned before he dismissed Tiny again and resummoned him beside him. “Okay, this is going to suck, but I need all three of you to help out,” Alburet told his minions as he dismissed Copies.
“As you command,” Tiny rumbled.
“I’ll roast them good,” Bob said.
“I can nay do much, but I will do me best,” Stacia said.
Focusing inside the barrier, Alburet Copied each of them. The three Copies rushed in to help Ironhand’s group. The Sergeant, who was the highest-ranking guard there, gave Alburet a nod of thanks.
“I doubt it will be enough, but if it buys us time to get more guards here, it will be a good thing,” the Sergeant said.
“Whose manor is this?” Alburet asked.
“Lord Calnon’s,” the Sergeant replied. More whistles started up another few streets away. “No,” the guard hissed, “not another.”
“Stay here,” Alburet told his minions as he took to the air.
Flying over to the newest whistles, he saw a black barrier surrounding yet another home. A handful of guards stood there, all blowing their whistles. Landing beside them, he had to step back as a pale faced guard spun on him with his weapon drawn.
“Stop it,” Alburet snapped at the fresh-faced guard. “Who’s inside there?”
“The Delvers,” the Corporal said, cradling his left arm, which was coated in inky blackness. “The manor belonged to Lord Fendrik.”
“All of the leaders of the assassination attempt seem to have similar traps,” Alburet growled. “The other guards are at Calnon’s manor going through the same thing.”
“We’ll hold here until more help arrives,” the Corporal hissed, squeezing his arm tighter.
Flying back to the Calnon’s manor, Alburet arrived just before Roberto and his troops. “Commander, House Frendrik has a black barrier in place,” Alburet reported.
“Damn them,” Roberto snapped. “Men, we’re off to House Frendrik. Move your asses.” Turning to Gerald, Roberto looked grim. “Can you handle this?”
“If our guildies fall, we will step in,” Gerald said.
“Commander,” Marysue said quickly, “there might be two more: one made of fire and one of ice.”
“I hope my men can get to them before someone triggers them,” Roberto said as he turned to follow the guards. “You ten stay here and make sure they aren’t interfered with if they have to step in.”
“Yes, sir,” a Corporal replied with a salute.
“Justice’s speed,” Marysue said as Roberto rushed off after the other guards.
“Who’s at the other one?” Gerald asked, watching Ironhand go flying when one of the Golems backhanded him.
“Delvers,” Alburet replied. “They’ve kept up with us leveling, so maybe they can handle them, but I’m not certain.”
“We have three tanks, and Marysue can heal all of us,” Karen said as she entered stealth. “That is the only reason we survived.”
“If I hadn’t been able to heal Tiny and TJ, we wouldn’t have made it,” Marysue nodded. “I believe this is the start of something bigger than just attempted assassination.”
“So much for a little downtime,” Alburet said as he watched the healer for Ironhand’s group start drinking potions. “I’ll dismiss the Copies if Ironhand’s group dies.”
“Everyone, be ready,” Gerald said when the tank inside the barrier died. “It’s not long now.”
Chapter Five
As everyone took their seats in the library, Alburet glanced at Blaze and Benedict, who were being trailed by their respective party members. The King waited for everyone to be seated and for the staff to hand out drinks before he cleared his throat.
“Thank you for coming. Each of you took part in saving Stormguard today from the traps laid by the supporters of Stein who fled the city. Some of you were unsuccessful, but gave your lives to buy time for others to arrive and assist you.” Pausing, the King looked at Ironhand, Blaze, and another person wearing the emblem of Heart’s Light. “I shall be opening the vault to a member of each party as my thanks, and for the completion of a quest.”
Quest Completed: Thwart the Elemental Golems
Rewards: Reputation with all Stormguard factions and five thousand gold.
Bonus: One member of your party allowed to choose an item from the vault of Stormguard.
“We’re sorry we were unable to bring down the foes we faced,” Blaze said as he brushed the pop-up away. “How many guards died before we could get back to assist?”
“A dozen guards died their Final Deaths,” Tyr replied. “No one is coming back to life at this point, it seems. Except the Two-souled.”
The players all exchanged looks, understanding what that could mean for the game. If all the NPCs died, there would be no quests or rewards. It would be the death of the game.
“What about the Keeps, Sire?” Benedict asked.
“We’ve had no issues so far. Do you think there might be?”
“I would suggest appointing someone you trust to each Keep, with explicit instructions to send word the moment anything unusual happens, Sire.”
“I have already arranged it,” Tyr nodded. “If events follow the stories of old, Stein will seek to stir up even more chaos in the next few days. That’s going to be a problem if I intend to gather my forces to march on the prison.”
“What can we do to assist, Sire?” Gerald asked.
“I will be issuing a quest to every Two-souled since you are immune to the Final Death. At noon tomorrow, the decree shall be proclaimed to all, but I will tell you of it now: the quest is to scour the country estates of the nobles who turned against me but haven’t repented. I can no longer ignore the likelihood that they are likely deeply entwined with Stein. All members of the guilty houses shall be brought before me or killed, with proof of their Final Deaths required. I shall invoke Justice’s name in this endeavor, so no one will be punished for undertaking my quest.”
“What are the rewards going to be?” Blaze asked, sitting forward.
“An item from the vault for each House that is dealt with given to a member of the group that completes the quest, ten thousand gold for each member, maximum reputation with the city, and once Stein is slain, I shall be considering the leader of each party for a minor title.”
Blaze whistled softly, “That’ll catch the eye of every Two-souled who hasn
’t allied against you.”
“That is my fervent hope,” Tyr admitted. “I will be doing something similar when the time comes to march on Stein himself. But before we can do that, we must remove his pawns.”
“The Delvers will gladly undertake both quests,” Blaze said, getting nods from his party.
“Alpha Company will support you and undertake any quest issued by the Crown, Sire,” Gerald said.
“Heart’s Light will help remove the stain that has long tarnished the empire’s name,” Benedict said.
“Good,” Tyr gave them all a tight smile. “Other quests might also become available depending on what Stein tries next, so be prepared to shift as needed. Please pick your members to go to the vaults.”
Gamer for Love (Alpha World Book 8) Page 3
