Alburet hovered above the fight, calling out orders as the battle shifted, having some of the damage dealers back off when it looked like the mobs might start to turn on them. He sent Stacia and Kitten in to Essence Drain the Golem after using their heals on Tiny and Gerald. It took a bit of time, but in the end, all the undead fell.
“Well, that was more exciting,” Ironhand said as he prepared more traps.
“That was more in line with what I’ve been expecting,” Gerald said while the others looted the bodies. “Now be ready for more like that or worse, and with the possibility of cultists joining in.”
“As long as we can get a little time between them, it should be okay,” Marysue said. “We have potions, but we should try to save them as long as possible.”
“Do you think the other groups are doing well?” Violet asked.
“Blaze and Benedict are good leaders,” Gerald replied. “I’m sure they’re doing fine.”
Not even two streets later, another mob of undead came out to attack them. When they were close to finishing off the monsters, a voice caught everyone’s attention.
“It’s the Alpha Company,” the sneering voice scoffed. “Vemron, let the others know.”
“Most of the others are already on their way to the other incursions,” Vemron replied. “I’ll try to get as many here as I can.”
“Fine! Retreat and raise the undead. We’ll buy time until they can get here.”
“Alpha Company, forward!” Gerald shouted. Using Bouncing Charge, he slammed into three of the cultists, stunning them. “We can’t let them get away.”
Ironhand threw a foam trap, locking all five in place, as the rest of the raid shifted to deal with the new threat. Fluff and Kauree used Wild Charge to close the distance to the cultists, applying Hamstring debuffs to make sure they would be slowed when the trap fell off.
“Area damage dealers, shift to the cultists. Single targets, stay on the undead,” Alburet called out. “Stacia, go up higher and see if reinforcements are coming this way.”
The fight ended in short order, the five cultists and the remnants of the undead finally falling. Gathering around, they waited for Gerald to give them orders.
“Both the other raids have been spotted and identified. Ioaniss’ group is moving in now. The gate guards have left and are gathering the undead as they go, which means the warm ups are over. The inn is still at least a mile away and we’re going to get attacked again before we get there.”
“Are we just going to bull into them?” Ironhand asked.
“No. We’re going to use the Infernals as scouts. We’ll at least be able to see what’s on the street ahead of time. I’m betting there are going to be a number of ambushes in or around various corners and buildings.”
“Can we circle around?” Violet asked. “If we’re just a diversion, then the longer we stay free and cause the cultists trouble, the better, right?”
“Exactly,” Gerald nodded. “That’s why we’re going to find areas that seem less dangerous and hit them. We’ll pull back and circle to a different spot to strike again. That means we might not complete our mission, but we’ll be able to buy the time for Ioaniss.”
“Gerald,” Alburet cut in, “if we get anywhere close to the inn, we should think about charging it. If we can get inside, we can head straight for the basement. I believe there were barrels of oil down there. We can break them open and torch it behind us as we slip into the tunnels.”
“We’ll keep it in mind, but right now, we’re going to play hit and run. Our primary mission is buying time for Rolland. The vaults are secondary.”
“Wait, if the vaults are secondary, what do we get for completing the primary quest?” Violet asked.
“Experience, as much as the Crown can give,” Gerald said. “We need to be max level for the raid, after all.”
“We got a couple of levels for attacking the manors, which means this is going to be worth even more than that,” Ironhand chuckled.
“They can’t be expecting to only take us fifteen into the raid,” Leggylass said.
“The King is going to be pushing experience out to everyone who guards the Keeps, too,” Gerald said. “He understands it’s better to use us as the shock troops rather than the guards.”
“The way north is getting crowded with undead,” Bob said, landing beside Alburet. “The west is looking a bit dicey, too, but the east is nearly empty.”
“We go east, then,” Gerald said. “Let’s move.”
All four Imps and Succubi took to the air, fanning out to give them reconnaissance. Alburet flew a handful feet above the raid, but well under the height of the buildings so he wouldn’t give away their position.
I wonder which of our raids will fail first, Alburet thought as he waited for the next fight to find them.
~*~*~
After more than an hour of fighting undead and cultists, they were all tired. Gerald slowed his steps at one point, shaking his head. “Blaze’s group found the bank and is looting it, but they’re pinned inside and don’t expect to last much longer.”
“We’re closing on the inn, but the undead and cultists are multiplying fast,” Alburet said. “What about Ioaniss?”
“They’re at the old Portal building and working their way through it. They asked for thirty minutes.”
“Heart’s Light?” Violet asked.
“Fighting on the castle’s steps, or they were a few minutes ago,” Gerald said. “They found the new Lord Carradine before the fight started.”
“Maybe Skippy is here,” Alburet muttered.
“Master,” Bob said, coming down fast beside him, “the undead are closing in on all sides now, like a noose.”
“Gerald?” Alburet asked.
“Okay, we’re not going to be able to dodge anymore. Everyone, straight at the inn. Ironhand, Violet, I’m going to need your groups to be the rearguard when we hit the inn. We’re going for the basement and the tunnel there. I need at least one person from my group to make it through since we’re the ones who know the traps.”
“Fine,” Violet sighed, “as long as we get the rewards.”
“We’ll handle it,” Ironhand said.
“The more of us that make it, the better, but I’ll be spearheading the attack inside the inn,” Gerald said. “Now let’s go gut them.”
With renewed energy, the small raid team turned in the direction of the inn. Gerald was glad he had marked it on his map when they were there last time. As they went, Alburet got Violet to send her Imp Copy up along with BJ.
“You take the left, I’ll take the right,” Alburet told her. “We need the Copies to hit the undead and lead them away slightly. Just keep an eye on any cultists. If they have those stupid banishing crystals, this will get messy.”
“That’s why we aren’t sending the normal Imps,” Violet nodded. “Got it.”
As they moved down the road, everyone kept glancing after the two Copied Imps. After a short while, they both cast Fire Burst and began to peel further away from the raid, headed in opposite directions. Letting a minute pass, Gerald started to jog, knowing they would have a limited window to use the Imps as a distraction.
Chapter Thirteen
Even with the Imps pulling some of the mobs away, the fight to the inn was not pretty. By the time they got there, they had lost Violet’s Imp to one of the black crystal beams and most of Ironhand’s group.
When they broke through the front door, a few staff members were inside. Kauree and Fluff Leaped across the room, one landing on the bartender, the other on a maid. Gerald Charged across the room and hit both, then turned to look back at the others as they all came in.
“We have this. Go, master!” Tiny rumbled.
Alburet nodded, heading for the kitchen. Stacia was right behind him, her voice raised in song because the moment they entered, the cook turned to face the door with butcher cleaver in hand. “Thank you, dear.”
Opening up the door to the cellar, Alburet rushed down an
d found the spot Ioaniss had triggered before. Stacia sent the cook out to the main room to help fight the cultists before she followed Alburet down the stairs.
Marysue was the next one down, using her magic to open up the passage. “It’s open,” she called up.
“Everyone, down,” Gerald shouted.
Alburet started breaking open barrels, splashing oil onto the wooden beams and along the walls. Aware of people rushing into the tunnel, he did his best to hurry. Grabbing the next cask, Alburet cursed when Bob and Tiny’s minion tabs vanished from his UI. “Fuckers!”
“Run,” one of the players still in the kitchen yelled.
“Come on, Al,” Gerald said from the passageway.
Slamming the barrel into the stairs, Alburet ran for the passage. He tossed a Fire Blast over his shoulder and the entire basement went up in flames. Some of the oil was coating his boots when he joined back up with Gerald. “Go on, I’m right behind you.”
Looking back as the passage door started to shut, Alburet watched the flames growing higher. He frowned, turning to follow the others. The group was much smaller than it had been a minute ago.
“What happened?” Alburet asked.
“They broke through the walls,” Gerald growled. “That inn is done for. Its structural integrity was compromised even before the fire.”
“Why are we missing more?”
“They did their best to buy us time,” Violet said with a grimace.
Seeing a colorful head of hair, Alburet felt his heart unclench slightly. “Kauree, glad you made it.”
“Your wife grabbed me and pulled me with her,” Kauree said.
“I didn’t want her to die,” Fluff said, her voice firm. “We lost everyone else.”
Ironhand produced a glowing light above his head, illuminating more of the tunnel for them. “Only me and Leggy left from my group.”
“Kauree and me from mine,” Violet said. “Once we’re out of combat, I’ll be able to resummon my minions.”
“Same,” Alburet nodded.
“We’ve still lost half of what we started with,” Gerald said. “I hope we can finish this.”
They followed the same path that they had before. When they came to the room depicting Peace between the brothers, Gerald had them rest for a bit. Taking seats, the remnants of the raid felt the adrenaline they had been running on ebb away.
“Did they finish their mission?” Ironhand asked.
“Blaze’s raid is done. Ioaniss gave them an item that would open the doors for them, so they got a lot of coin from the bank vault. ”
“Lucky bastards,” Violet muttered.
“Benedict’s raid made it into the castle and as far as the royal chambers. They looted a number of cultural artifacts the King will want from them.”
“Ioaniss is going to be busy for a bit,” Alburet chuckled, “and Vladimir.”
“Rolland got the runes copied and got out just as Ophelia showed up. Kim said Rolland was able to trap her in ice long enough for them to use their Homestones.”
A spike of anger went through Alburet, Fluff, Stacia, and Karen at Ophelia’s name. “We still owe her,” Karen said softly.
“I’m sure we’ll be seeing her again,” Gerald said. “Ioaniss said she looked angry. Not sure I prefer that over her mocking us like she did before.”
“Think she’ll be waiting for us?” Alburet asked.
“I hope not,” Gerald replied. “We’ll need more than this to tackle her.”
“He be havin’ a point,” Stacia nodded.
“We’re the last ones left inside the city,” Marysue said. “We should get moving.”
“No,” Gerald said, placing a hand on her arm. “We’re going to rest for a bit. With the inn burning, they should think we fled or died. I want them to continue thinking so.”
“Anyone bring some cards?” Ironhand asked jokingly.
“Wish I had,” Alburet said. “Violet, wait to summon them until we clear the hallway. The Destroyers won’t fit.”
Violet looked at him questioningly, and Alburet began to explain what they would be facing next. Ironhand and Leggylass listened in, looking surprised at the complicated traps that were ahead of them.
~*~*~
When they cleared the last trapped area hours later, most of them were starting to feel the edge of anticipation gnawing. Gerald made sure they would be ready for the next step when they were outside the room where they had found Lord Sean Jones.
“Okay, it’s down two levels and requires a devout follower of Peace to get the doors open normally. I believe they were left open, and if they still are, we might have real issues if someone is monitoring the boards.”
“We need Marysue to make it through at least, in case they are closed,” Karen said. “We want one person inside to turn everything on.”
“That’s right. I’m also hoping we can find out if the other prisoners are still locked in and who they are, if they’re still being held in stasis,” Gerald agreed.
“Are we doing this quick or stealthy?” Ironhand asked.
“Both,” Gerald said. “I want you and Karen to head down in front of us. Karen, if you can, Sap and break any other stealthers from the shadows, please.”
“Got it,” Karen said, giving her wives and Alburet kisses. “Ready?”
“Hall, door, down two flights?” Ironhand asked to make sure he had it right.
“Yeah. I’ll touch your left shoulder if there’s a problem,” Karen said as she vanished from view, only a faint shimmer showing her location.
“Got it,” Ironhand said as he stealthed and followed Karen.
“Okay, for the rest of us, check your bags. See if we looted any cloaks. We can try the same trick we used last time,” Gerald said. No one had any, and Gerald looked grim as he stopped in front of a set of double doors. “Oh, well. It might be a fight every step of the way or it might be empty.”
Armed and ready to go, everyone held their breath as Gerald started the doors opening. The room was empty, still covered in the broken rubble Alburet remembered from the first time they were there.
“See you soon,” Karen said before she and Ironhand started for the stairs.
Gerald and the Destroyers moved at a slow pace, trying to minimize the noise from their armor, and everyone felt the tension as they crept along. At the first landing, they didn’t see anyone and Karen’s and Ironhand’s blurs weren’t in sight.
Going down to the second floor where the control should be, Gerald came to a stop when he heard voices. Not able to make out any words, he hesitated a bit longer and his message icon began flashing.
Message from Karen Darkhand:
Bloodmoon’s group down here, and none are in stealth. Ironhand and I are ready to move as soon as you get here.
Gerald used his Mindstone to relay the message to the others. Alburet smiled grimly. He pulled out a set of manacles he still had from when they had gone out hoping to find Skippy. Gerald blinked, having thought they had been returned to the guards, but nodded.
Holding up a hand, Gerald began silently counting down, his fingers dropping in a slow pattern. When he reached zero, he ran down the last few stairs with the others hot on his heels. Gerald used Bouncing Charge as soon as he was in the room, hitting Bloodmoon, Waller, and Icestorm and stunning them briefly.
“Lock them down! We want Bloodmoon,” Gerald said as the others ran in after him. Bloodmoon was standing in the open doorway to the control room.
Stacia tried to apply Daze on Bloodmoon, but her song didn’t take. With a frown, she squinted at the Berserker. “She be havin’ a boon from Stein. I can nay touch her.”
Fluff had taken the manacles from Alburet as they went down the stairs. Her Leap put her behind Bloodmoon, so she was able to snap the manacles onto the Lunari’s wrists. A deep satisfaction emanated from her as the locks closed. “Payback time.”
The three stunned players shook off the condition, but had only started to respond when Gerald Ground Stomped
, stunning them again. “Are they locked?” Gerald asked as he kept hitting Icestorm.
Gamer for Love (Alpha World Book 8) Page 12
