Gamer for Love (Alpha World Book 8)

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “Yes,” Ironhand said, throwing a trap at the three stunned players and encasing their legs in foam.

  “Caster first,” Marysue said simply, and the damage dealers swarmed the Elementalist.

  Icestorm came out of the stun, screaming. Before he could do anything else, Tiny stunned him yet again. TJ followed up on Bloodmoon, while Violet’s Greater Destroyer, Theo, stunned Waller. By the time Icestorm came out of the third stun, his life was all but gone.

  “Heal me, asshole!” Icestorm shouted just before he encased himself in ice.

  “Randolphus, why aren’t you—” Bloodmoon spat, cutting off when she saw who was attacking her. “You!”

  “He’s tied up,” Alburet said, pulling the axe from his back and heading toward the Berserker. “Don’t worry. We aren’t going to kill you... not fast, anyway.”

  Tugging at her arms, Bloodmoon looked a little panicked when she realized they were shackled behind her. “What? You can’t do this!”

  “You killed Alistern,” Alburet growled, fire sparking from his eyes. “I can do anything to you for that,” he spat the words, and a wad of flame burned a small patch of fur off Bloodmoon’s cheek.

  Waller stunned everyone around him, literally and figuratively, with a shout. He’d taken the Ability to change his area stun from Ground Stomp to Stunning Shout. Alburet and Fluff were immune to the effect. Surprised when they didn’t stop, he tried to Charge but discovered his legs were stuck in foam. Taunting Alburet, the Defender looked back to see Randolphus, their healer, swaying in place along with the Shadowdancer, Blackblade.

  “Fluff, make sure he doesn’t interfere, please,” Alburet said as he pressed his burning axe into Bloodmoon’s gut. “Dear, I have a present for you.”

  Stacia landed behind Bloodmoon, her fingers becoming talons. “Aye. Ya always get me what me be wantin’ most. Ya hurt me family, and now... ya will pay,” Stacia said. Her voice was soft as she leaned in next to Bloodmoon, her sharp nails starting to dig into the flesh under the scalemail armor.

  “You can’t do this! It’s torture,” Bloodmoon yelled as she tried to get away from the pain they were causing her.

  “I thought you liked torture,” Alburet snarled and spat another flame onto her. His axe slipped up under her hauberk, the flame coated metal burning her fur off, and the stench of burning hair filled the room.

  “Al…” Marysue said, looking disturbed by what he was doing.

  “Umm, guys,” Leggylass said, also appalled.

  Karen appeared next to Stacia, her blades piercing Bloodmoon’s uncovered neck. “We need to kill her friends first,” she said, though it was clear she was just as pissed as they were.

  Bloodmoon slumped unconscious when the poison took effect. Alburet yanked his axe back, and Stacia picked up the unconscious Berserker. “Fine,” he growled, turning to Waller. “We’ll start with him.”

  The group focused on Waller while they waited for Icestorm to come out of his ice. Waller drank healing potions and did the best he could, but it wasn’t enough.

  Icestorm came out of his ice and died within seconds, even with the potion he tried to chug. Waller kept trying to get his health up, hoping his healer would come out of the sap. As his life drifted closer to zero, he looked back only to see Randolphus encased inside an amber block. His face fell and he knew he was about to die.

  Once Waller went down, the raid turned on Blackblade. The Shadowdancer tried to break and run, but Karen was able to pin him down, able to see him even in stealth. All of his duplicates didn’t help him against the Fire Bursts from the Imps above him, which killed them almost as quickly as they had appeared.

  Stacia and Kitten held Bloodmoon when she woke up, their taloned hands piercing her body while they waited for the others to finish. Bloodmoon was screaming about it being wrong as the raid finally fell on Randolphus and killed him.

  With the threats dealt with, Gerald led Marysue, Leggylass, and Ironhand into the control room. The others gathered around Bloodmoon, who looked on the verge of panic.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Bloodmoon panted. “Once you kill me, I’ll just respawn. Then I’ll come back for you... I’ll kill everyone you care for!” Foaming spittle flew from her mouth as she yelled at them, “The innkeeper and tailor were only the first few I mean to kill.”

  The anger the four shared was rising, but Alburet took it and turned it from hot rage into cold, implacable fury. Shaking his head, he took her from Stacia. “No. To do that, the manacles have to come off.”

  “I’ll get free,” Bloodmoon spat.

  “Dear, please message Mother and tell her we have a guest for the Dark Lord. The one who wronged his Champion, his daughter, and granddaughters needs a place to stay for a bit.”

  “What!?” Bloodmoon yelled, her eyes going wide. “That’s kidnapping, you can’t do that!”

  “She be askin’ Peace iffin she can come collect ya gift,” Stacia said a moment later, her eyes burning embers that matched her husband’s.

  “No!” Bloodmoon yelled, vanishing from his arms.

  “Bitch!” Karen snapped. “She used the emergency exit.”

  Stacia hands knotted into fists, her nails cutting into her hands. “She fled back to ya other world?”

  “Yes,” Fluff said, pulling out her Mindstone. “I’m going to let Vicky know what she was trying to avoid.”

  “Good point,” Alburet said. His anger flared briefly back to hot when Bloodmoon vanished, but went wintery again. “What Bloodmoon is doing could mentally damage others.”

  Karen snarled and stalked off toward the control room, wanting to break something. Stacia went after her, “I be goin’ to make sure Karen does nay hurt anyone.”

  Alburet nodded. Fluff was putting her Mindstone away, her anger matching Alburet’s, which had dropped back to a simmer. “Should we go see what the others have learned?”

  “Yes,” Fluff said and started for the control room.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “What happened to Bloodmoon?” Gerald asked.

  “She ejected,” Karen managed to say through clenched teeth.

  “I wonder what that will mean for her tester status?” Marysue murmured.

  “It’ll be a few days at least before she gets back,” Gerald said. “I’m sure there’s a whole slew of things they’ll want to check since that button was used.”

  “We can’t do anything about it now,” Alburet said frigidly. “Let’s finish our mission.”

  “The cells are all empty except for one,” Ironhand said, after checking the maps. “Cell three. If we can find paperwork, then we’ll have an idea of who’s in there and why they didn’t release them.”

  “Close up all the doors and arm all the traps,” Gerald said, tossing the medallion to Ironhand. “Might as well stay safe and make life hell for any cultists in the area.”

  “Roger,” Ironhand said, closing the control room door first.

  “Okay folks, let’s get to looking,” Gerald said. “How are your two groups doing?”

  “They appeared in a graveyard up top that had some kind of cage set up over it,” Violet said. “Their Homestones didn’t work right away, but they did after a minute.”

  “Same,” Leggylass said. “They’re resupplying, and will be at the Guild Hall waiting for us.”

  “Prisoner logs are here,” Fluff said, indicating a set of books. Taking one over to a desk, she set it down and started skimming the pages. “Here’s Dragon Eater, and his long list of crimes. Quilon Deathriser, a Stein supporter who was caught along with Dimitry, was in cell two. The third cell belonged to Jay Taylor, a Summoner… his name and class are the only things noted. No crimes listed.”

  “Do we gamble on him?” Alburet asked.

  “They didn’t let him out, but did Quilon, which means he isn’t on their team,” Marysue said, looking at the book. “Should we try and find anything else on him?”

  “That might take longer,” Gerald said. “At this point, Bloodmoon’s grou
p has already told others we’re here. If we want to let Taylor out, we should move now.”

  “Going to risk it, then?” Ironhand said.

  “It’s worth the risk,” Gerald said. “The main problem is that the doors here only close from the inside. That means to secure this place, we need to leave someone behind.”

  “I’ll do it,” Alburet said. “I know how it all works, and Kitten can stay with me to let me know when you’re ready for each set of doors and when you all leave.”

  “What are we going to do for Taylor?” Leggylass asked. “It’s not like his Homestone is going to take him with us.”

  “Hmm,” Gerald said, realizing why she was concerned. “He won’t have any idea of the Empire to the west, and it’s unlikely he could make it to Progress, either.”

  “He’s a Summoner,” Alburet said. “Maybe Mother remembers him and can help?”

  Stacia pulled out her Mindstone, “Give me a moment.” A couple of minutes passed before she put it away. “He be known to Mother. Taylor was playin’ spy for the Crown.”

  “He might have information for the King, then,” Gerald said.

  “Aye. Mother says she can get him out, iffin we can get to him and surround him with Infernals.”

  “He’s definitely worth the risk,” Ironhand commented.

  “Al, you sure about staying behind? We can use the medallion to open the doors as we go,” Gerald asked.

  “I want to make sure all the traps are set behind you to keep giving them grief. Remember that Ophelia is still in the city, so please be careful.” Alburet’s last few words were aimed at Fluff, Stacia, and Karen directly, but meant for the entire group.

  “I’ll protect them, master,” Tiny rumbled.

  “Okay, you all get ready,” Alburet said, taking the medallion from Ironhand. “Kitten, stay here. You’ll be my contact. Once you all get out, I’ll leave, too,” Alburet finished.

  It took a minute before everyone was ready, and once Gerald gave Alburet a nod, the doors opened. His wives all looked back at him before the doors closed behind them.

  Alburet opened each door and turned off the traps before they reached them, then closed and reset the traps after they left. Kitten didn’t say anything besides letting him know when he needed to trigger the next door.

  When the group got to the prison, Alburet saw traps being triggered in a different section of the depths. Quickly pulling down the containment around Taylor, Alburet noticed that one of the door locks was now broken in the area where traps were being set off.

  “Let them know company is on the way… and moving fast,” Alburet said, seeing traps flashing off and the next door stop being functional.

  “He be questionin’ thin’s,” Kitten said.

  “You have five minutes,” Alburet said.

  “He be acceptin’,” Kitten said.

  Alburet watched the traps and doors continue to fail, one-by-one. “That has to be Ophelia,” he muttered.

  “We be leavin’,” Kitten said.

  Alburet dug out his Homestone, still watching the doors leading toward the prison section fall like dominos. The Homestone deposited him in the courtyard of the embassy. Letting out a deep breath, he smiled at his wives. “Had me worried for a moment,” he told them.

  “We heard something echoing down the hall,” Karen said.

  “Something or someone was breaking through the traps and doors, and doing so faster than they should have been able to,” Alburet replied.

  “Ya think tha’ was Ophelia?”

  “Along with the Golems she was using as undead battering rams,” Alburet nodded.

  “Where is Taylor going to show up?” Fluff asked. “We never got an answer on that.”

  “Mother said she be takin’ him to Progress and havin’ him use the portal there.”

  “Let’s let Gerald know so he can go grab him,” Karen said. “As it is, we’re probably due back up at the castle for quest turn in.”

  Message from Gerald Stoutheart:

  We’ll get Jay Taylor. Head on up to the castle; the others are already there or heading there. We’ll be there after we get Rolland, Kim, and Taylor.

  “Gerald is on his way to get him, Rolland, and Kim. You were right about the quest turn in. He said we should head up.”

  “The carriage will be ready in just a moment,” Astov said, standing off to the side where Knitoc was hooking the horses up.

  “Lord, Ladies,” Bezzle said, flying over to them, “we’ve had no problems here.”

  “Glad to hear that,” Alburet said as Astov opened up the carriage door and began to help the ladies in. “Keep up the good work.”

  Bezzle put his fist over his heart, then flew back to the walls. Alburet watched him go and climbed into the carriage. Once the door was shut and the Infernals were on board, Knitoc flicked the reins to get them moving.

  ~*~*~

  Alburet approached Blaze as they joined everyone else in the throne room, “How did you guys do?”

  “We cleared the vault out,” Blaze grinned. “My Guild won’t be having money issues for a while, which makes taking a second Keep a lot more likely.”

  “That might end up having to wait until after the raid,” Alburet chuckled.

  “Oh, it will. I’ll be looking at a Keep out in the Dwarven lands, since we have one in Elf country already.”

  “Spreading them around seems like the best approach,” Alburet agreed.

  “I would suggest you delegate who takes care of them,” Benedict interrupted. “Where’s Gerald?”

  “He’ll be here in a minute. He was picking up some of our guildies and a guest. How did the castle go for you?”

  “We got some records and items, but probably nothing worth half of what Blaze got.”

  “I would bet you can hand those over for a Keep of your choice,” Blaze countered. “I know you have Keeps out in Dwarf and Lunari zones already.”

  Benedict smirked, “Adding a third was on my list of things to do.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Blaze said. “How are you paying for all that?”

  Benedict just shook his head as he walked away, “Hard work.”

  “High taxes, more likely,” Sato mumbled.

  The sound of doors closing drew everyone’s attention. Gerald, Marysue, Rolland, Kim, and Jay Taylor were walking into the room. Alburet gave Gerald a wave, easily seen above the others.

  Before anyone could do more than say hello, the sound of a staff striking the floor let them know the King was coming. The King entered the room, Ioaniss beside him as he took his seat.

  “Well done. I expected no less from three of the most prominent Two-souled Guilds. Benedict Lightfist, Gerald Stoutheart, and Blaze Two-souled, step forward,” Tyr said. He smiled at them as they presented themselves. “You have aided us in taking a significant step toward our goal today. Further, during your trek through Peace, as I’m sure you are aware, your followers have been holding off attacks at the Keeps. It’s been mostly the creatures that already reside there, but in a few cases, they have held off undead and cultists.”

  “We do what we can to assist in this time of crisis, Majesty,” Benedict said.

  “And we appreciate that, Champion Lightfist. Let me complete all of your quests for you first.” The King touched something in the air and excited conversations started around the room when they saw their levels jump.

  “Isn’t that a bit much?” Blaze asked incredulously.

  “Not at all, Blaze Two-souled,” Tyr replied. “We have need of you in the coming days, and it behooves us to make sure we help you be ready. All of your followers are reaping the benefits while they defend the Keeps. Those who are at the Dead Lands’ Keeps will be seeing increased gains soon as well.”

  “We thank you, Sire,” Gerald said.

  “Before we move on, I’d like to add to the rewards you’ve already received. Money has already been sent via the bank to each of your Guilds, and you may each claim individual cash rewards as you le
ave. Also, we think it is time to make you three equals. Blaze, from today onward, you shall be Lord Blaze Iceblood, for your calmness in the face of death. One of my servants will speak with you after the audience.”

  The Delvers’ contingent exploded into cheers and whistles. The others in the room cheered for him too, but not nearly as exuberantly. Blaze grinned while he looked over his character screen. “Thank you. I’ll do my best to uphold the honor.”

  “Sire,” Gerald said after a moment’s pause, “we have some news for you.”

  “What news do you bring?”