“It’s good and bad,” Karen said when she got in.
Stacia was after Karen, with Alburet climbing in last. “Good and bad?”
“It’s nice to not be exposed on the streets, but it also confines us inside a box,” Karen replied.
“I don’t think it’s that bad,” Fluff said as the carriage started moving. “It’s not as if we can’t be out in a flash if something does happen.”
“I agree, but I don’t like being pinned down easily.”
“They’d need to bring in a couple of groups to pin us inside,” Alburet commented. “Tiny and Knitoc are both outside, as well as Bob and Astov. If we get attacked, I’d Copy both and give them six targets to deal with.”
“Point,” Karen admitted. “Still makes me uneasy.”
Fluff patted her thigh, “You just worry for us, which is good.”
“Can’t let people hurt my family,” Karen murmured, leaning over to claim a kiss.
The carriage slowed down, and Astov had the door open as soon they were stopped. Alburet got out, Copying Tiny and Bob as he stepped aside for the ladies, then also Copying Stacia when she made it out of the carriage.
“Lilith is going to be moving later. Make sure to get her to where she’s going,” Alburet told Knitoc.
“I shall, Lord.”
“We used our carriage, too,” Marysue said as she came out of the building. “Our staff is ready for Dennis and the others.”
“What about Lilith? Is she slated to act as his seneschal if needed?” Alburet asked.
“We’ve asked the King. We’re just waiting for his approval,” Gerald said as the two groups came together and exchanged hugs. “I’m sure he’ll allow it. Only a handful of people know she’s a Succubus.”
“Fair enough,” Alburet replied. “Where are we going for this shindig?”
“All the country estates are close to the Keeps they’re associated with. Gilden House is responsible for Webbed Woods.”
“Why am I not surprised by this?” Alburet chuckled darkly.
“Because he’s a bug, a freak that deserves to be squashed,” Karen stated.
Fluff shook her head, “Spiders normally serve a purpose. I’m not sure Skippy does.”
“Tha’ was a right good insult, Fluff,” Stacia giggled.
“She isn’t wrong,” Marysue smiled. “Let’s get going. We should scout out the area before the quest goes live at noon.”
“That’s a good idea,” Karen agreed. “Oh, aren’t we expecting—”
“Sorry for the delay,” Vetenarie said, entering the building.
“What are you doing here?” Gerald asked, and Alburet filled him in on the agreement. “I see,” Gerald sighed. “I don’t blame the King, though I’m surprised that you came to ask.”
“It was that or have Lady Karen Darkhand put her blades into my back.”
“He’s not wrong,” Karen said. “I almost tagged him yesterday when he approached us.”
“I’ll be following you all and not taking any active part in what you do. But, if another task of mine becomes possible, I might well fulfill an existing contract.”
“With the way natives have been dropping, it might only take the once,” Alburet’s smile was feral.
“Possibly,” Vetenarie admitted, but he didn’t look happy at the prospect. “I fear what might come if death continues to stalk the land like this.”
“Let’s go,” Gerald said. “We have a few hours, but I’ll feel better if we’re ready to go as soon as we can.”
“Works,” Alburet said. “Lead on, oh glorious leader.”
Gerald eyed him for a moment, then offered his arm to Marysue and led them up the stairs. Vetenarie watched them go before he stealthed and trailed after them. Karen glanced back, eyeing Vetenarie’s shimmering, man-shaped outline.
Appearing just outside the Webbed Woods Keep, Gerald paused. The guards that would normally be outside the gates were missing. Pulling his shield off his back, he waited as the others appeared.
Alburet was last, and he frowned when he saw the others all waiting tensely. “Where are the guards?”
“That’s the question, all right,” Gerald grunted, nodding. “Do we check this before we move on?”
“If you’ll give me a moment, I’ll go have a look,” Vetenarie’s voice came from behind them.
“I’ll go with him,” Karen said as she slipped into stealth.
“Let me send Bob up and over first,” Alburet said quickly.
Bob nodded and started to take off. Before he could go, Gerald spoke up, “Bob, just peek over the wall. Don’t go all the way over.”
“Got it,” Bob replied. Slowly gaining height, his head popped over the top. After a long moment, Bob dropped down and came back to them. “Nothing. No movement at all. The blacksmith’s forge looks cold, too.”
“We should check before we move on,” Gerald said. “We don’t want to get caught in a vise. Karen, Vetenarie, go ahead.”
“On it,” Karen said as she headed for the open gate.
The group watched her shimmering shape move away, but none of them knew if Vetenarie was with her or not. Time seemed to stretch out as they waited. Alburet saw a distinctive shimmer coming out of the gate some time later. When Karen reappeared, her face looked grim.
“There’s no one there, but all the buildings show signs of combat,” Karen told them.
“They were killed,” Vetenarie said, dropping stealth. “The King needs to know about this. If other Keeps are missing their defenders as well… Things might become even worse.”
“Was it the spiders?” Alburet asked, even though he was sure it wasn’t.
“No webs anywhere, and the tracks I could make out seemed to be booted. People attacked this Keep.”
“Are you going back?” Gerald asked.
Shaking his head, Vetenarie pulled out his Mindstone. “No. I’m going to inform Kato, then we can head on.”
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Fluff said.
“I agree,” Marysue added. “It feels like the storm is about to break.”
“We’ve come to carry out a task. This is probably related somehow, but this isn’t the main reason,” Gerald said. “The manor is a few miles that way,” he pointed away from the woods.
“I’ve sent my message,” Vetenarie said. “I’ll be trailing you.”
The group started down the path in the direction of the manor. Gerald and Tiny were in the lead, with Bob and BJ above them in the air. Karen was off to the right, shadowing them in stealth, Fluff walked next to Alburet, and Marysue followed them with Kitten and Stacia bringing up the rear.
“BJ,” Alburet said after a few minutes of walking, “go ahead of us and do a quick recon.”
“On it,” the washed-out Copy of Bob said as he zipped off ahead of the group.
They kept walking as he flew off. A few minutes later, Bob hissed in pain, losing some altitude and coming closer to Alburet.
“What happened?”
“The manor is swarming with undead. There’s at least one person with one of those crystals that we saw at Peace. My Copy was banished instantly, and it hurts when that happens.”
Everyone came to a halt. “Bob, how many and what kinds of undead?”
“Skeletons, Zombies, and Golems,” Bob said. “The manor is surrounded with them. Most of the Zombies looked like they were from the Keep. The handful of Golems I saw were like the ones we fought in the city.”
“These are traps, too... or staging grounds,” Gerald grumbled. “I’m putting out a raid call to the Guild.”
“Maybe we should warn Delvers and Heart’s Light, so they have an idea of what to expect,” Marysue suggested.
“That’s a good idea,” Gerald said. “You handle the raid call and I’ll message them.”
Alburet pulled out his Mindstone, “I’ll let Ioaniss know about the manors. Maybe the King wants to shift the quest some now that we know what we’re likely looking at.”
�
�Do it,” Gerald said, focusing on his own Mindstone.
Alburet put his Mindstone away after a moment. “Ioaniss is still with the Lunari, but he said he’ll pass the message to the King immediately.”
“A bunch of guildies are heading to the Portal Guild now. Violet’s group was already there and will be up to the portal in a moment,” Marysue told them.
“Blaze and his Guild had already gotten to their manor, and saw the same sort of thing. They’ve also pulled back and are doing the same thing we are. Benedict thanked us; he’s going to rally his Guild, as well,” Gerald said, putting his Mindstone away. “The Keep that the Delvers appeared at had guards, but they seemed shifty. Roberto is being dispatched to interview them.”
“The guards there might be supporters of Stein and were spared?” Marysue asked.
“That’s the question Roberto is going to ask,” Gerald nodded.
“Should we return to the portal point to stage for the fight?” Fluff asked.
“Yeah,” Gerald agreed. “Let’s head back. We’ll need at least twenty for me to feel happy about this.”
“I’m going to head to the manor and have a look,” Vetenarie said from nearby, staying in stealth. “I’ll pull back once I’ve done so. Maybe I can give you an accurate count.”
“We’ll take all the help we can get,” Gerald said.
“I could go with him.” Karen said.
Alburet frowned, but nodded, “Stay back and stay safe. If they have any Assassins on the outskirts, you’ll have to be his eyes.”
“You don’t want to keep her with us?” Gerald asked.
“Karen can do it,” Alburet replied.
“Make sure you stay safe,” Fluff said, kissing Karen’s stealthed form.
“I’ll be careful, but I want to see if they have any outliers on guard.”
“Let’s go meet our guildies and get ready for the assault,” Gerald said, starting back toward where Violet’s group would likely be waiting.
King’s Quest: Form raids to attack the traitorous nobles at their country estates.
This quest requires a minimum of twenty people per raid. Participating individuals must be sanctioned by the Crown’s Guards. Receive sanction at the castle in Stormguard. Heart’s Light, Delvers Inc., and Alpha Company members are already sanctioned.
Kill all mobs at each manor and bring back proof that it has been done.
Rewards: Ten members of each raid shall receive an item from the vaults. Maximum reputation with all Stormguard factions for all raid members. 10,000 gold each for participating members.
Bonus Quest: Kill the nobles and bring their rings to the King.
“He isn’t fooling around,” Gerald said. “At least Tyr understands that if you set the reward high enough, Two-souled will flock to the quest.”
“Good,” Alburet said. “The more of us that are with the King, the less we’ll have to deal with when we fight Stein.”
“Bloodmoon will be on the other side, at least,” Fluff said.
“Good,” Marysue said. “She deserves what she gets after she helped them capture Andrea.”
“I’m going to feel bad when we have to fight Andrea,” Alburet said.
“Ya think she be turned already?” Stacia asked.
“If she isn’t yet, she likely will be by the time we get to the prison,” Alburet sighed.
“That be bad,” Stacia sighed. “Her voice was so pure and full of light.”
“Anything to make Stein and his flunkies pay,” Gerald added. “But first, we focus on the problems we’re about to have right now.”
When they got back to the abandoned Keep, Violet’s group was already waiting. “Is this what you were hinting at, Alburet?”
“Yes and no,” Alburet replied. “Taking on nobles at their country manors, yes. Them having so many mobs that it becomes a raid? Not so much.”
“You told her?” Gerald asked.
“I advised her that being ready at the Portal Guild around noon would be a good idea. Ran into her when I went to train yesterday.”
“What are we looking at?” the Paladin next to Violet asked.
“Karen is scouting now, but Bob got a brief glimpse,” Gerald replied. “Firstly, the Zombies are the guards from here. The Keep is completely empty.”
“They killed the guards?” an Elven woman in soft leathers asked from behind the Paladin.
“Yes. Plus, they have Golems like those that turned up in the city the other day,” Gerald said. “It was hard enough dealing with them, but add in dozens of other mobs and Necromancers? We can’t do it alone, hence the raids being required.”
“We need a couple other teams then, don’t we?” Violet asked.
“We have three more groups coming,” Marysue said. “Ironhand’s, Deirdre’s, and Paladium’s.”
“Deirdre?” Alburet asked with a grimace.
“You’re afraid for her?” Gerald asked. “Do you want us to get a different group?”
“Nay,” Stacia said. “She be knowin’ the danger, and nay even the city be safe now. She be good at her job; she will help with the healin’ since we have a lot of Infernals.”
Alburet shook his head, “Let her come, but we may want to use her party as the swing group. Even if she knows and accepts the risk, there is no reason to risk her more than necessary.”
Stacia gave him a soft smile, “I will nay argue tha’.”
“She’ll be in the back with Marysue,” Gerald said. “We’ll use Chris as the fifth tank.”
“We do need to protect the natives,” Violet nodded.
“You just say that because you’re engaged to her sister,” the Paladin laughed.
“Shut up, Darkknight,” Violet sighed, even as the other three laughed.
“They’ll be here in a few minutes,” Marysue said. “I hope Karen is okay.”
Chapter Eight
Once the raid party had assembled, Gerald gave them all a quick rundown of what they knew so far about the manor. “We’ll have more information once Karen gets back.”
“I have a question,” Jaxton said. “I take it you’re going to be lead tank, but how are we dividing up tank duties?”
“Until we know what we’re looking at in more detail, we won’t know,” Gerald said. “Damage is going to have to focus until the tanks have all the mobs under control. We don’t want them running after you or the healers.”
“I can’t wait to show off my new bow,” Leggylass said, “in case you’re all wondering about the kind of loot this raid is going to open up for us.”
“Are we splitting the vault rewards evenly between our groups?” Violet asked.
“That’s the plan,” Gerald nodded. “Each group will get two items, but how you decide which of your people gets them will be up to you. If there’s a conflict, I’ll step in, but only if it gets out of hand.”
“The way it should be,” Paladium nodded. “There won’t be an issue with my group.”
“Leggy already has a bow,” Ironhand said. “You and Brightlight will be getting ours, Jaxton.”
“Understood,” Jaxton smiled. “Joining you guys was the best thing I’ve done in-game.”
“I was the one who suggested it,” Brightlight smirked.
“Right, right,” Jaxton said.
“Okay, any other questions before we start toward the manor?” Gerald asked everyone.
No one had any, so Gerald got them moving down the road. Soft conversations started up, most of it about zones they had each visited and any tricks they had learned.
Gerald stopped them when he caught sight of a shimmer moving toward them. “Karen, how was it?”
“Busy. A couple of Trapsmiths put traps around and were waiting to ambush anyone who got close. They’re dead and the traps are clearly marked. I didn’t want to try to disarm them and accidentally trigger one.” Karen let stealth fall off as she talked, “The manor is swarming with undead. What looked like the full complement of the Keep, sixty Zombies or more, almost twice
that number of Skeletons, and ten of the Elemental Golems, two of each sort. Some of the Skeletons were casters, and I spotted another ten Necromancers. There may be more than that. I think we should pull the full Guild in for this.”
Gerald took a moment to take in what she had said. “Five groups might not be enough to handle all that, and I doubt we’ll be able to pull some off and take them piecemeal.”
Gamer for Love (Alpha World Book 8) Page 6
