“As does Leap,” Fluff said, landing beside them and spinning in a circle between the mobs as she used Whirlwind.
Tiny and TJ made it there before the stun wore off, allowing them to grab mobs and use their stuns to keep them locked down. With the full group there, they easily dismantled the four undead casters.
When the last of the mobs fell over dead, Alburet looked back to see Stacia and Kitten beside the injured Imp. Both of them had used Comforting Touch to heal him, but his health hadn’t recovered past half yet. With the battle done, Marysue helped heal the Infernal.
“Thank you,” the Imp said, his face twisted with sadness.
“What happened?” Alburet asked, going over to him.
“We crested the dune and found another group fighting these casters, so we came down to help. It’s unusual for us to find each other in the sands, but we help when we do. Just as we got close, another set of undead rose and we had to fight them first. Things didn’t seem too bad, but then another group of Infernals came over the dune from the other way. When they came down to assist, more undead came out of the sands and set upon all of us. While that was happening, the casters had finished off the first group and turned on the new group. None of us could hurt them with fire, only physical attacks could hurt them. They attacked the Destroyers first, killing them, then turned on the Succubi, leaving us for last. They picked us off one-by-one... when we tried to close and hurt them with our claws, they used area spells to damage us. We didn’t stand a chance.”
“Gerald,” Karen said as she finished looting, “I think you might want to see this.”
Gerald went over to see what she was talking about, leaving the others with the Imp. Stacia and Kitten did their best to comfort him, but even with them holding him, he didn’t seem to notice.
“Al, these weren’t average undead,” Gerald said, coming back with a medallion. “We looted five of these.”
Medallion of Stein’s Army
Wearer must be an undead creation of Stein or a follower of Stein
135% Fire Resistance
300 Intelligence
“How did these five end up all the way out here?” Alburet asked, handing the medallion back to Gerald.
“That’s a good question, and one we’re likely to never get an answer for. Maybe he’s been slowly setting them loose since you ran into him. We need to make sure the King hears about these. It will make a difference for the raid.”
“Ya should go home,” Stacia was saying softly. “See ya wives, gather ya friend’s families and honor them.”
Tears still fell from the Imp’s eyes, but he nodded mutely as he sniffled. Getting to his feet, he looked up at them. “I didn’t deserve to be saved, not when I failed them... but I will do what I should.” The Imp pulled a Homestone from his waistband and vanished, leaving the group to wonder if he would ever recover.
“Well that is fucked,” Karen muttered. “Fourteen dead, and all because of those casters.”
“We heading back, or should we keep going for the next few days?” Alburet asked.
“We should drop these off and turn in,” Gerald said. “The quest items the Infernals were carrying all dropped with their loot; we have more now than we did the first time. Let’s head home. We’ll drop off the items, go collect our rewards, and plan for what we should do next.”
Everyone agreed and they pulled out Homestones. Their eyes drifted to the sands around them, each of them easily able to recall where the bodies had been just minutes ago.
~*~*~
When they arrived at the table to drop their quest items off, they were surprised to find Sala there. “Alpha Company, it’s good to see you again.”
“We have shards and hearts to turn in, Sala,” Gerald said as he started piling shards on the table. “We also have five medallions the King should know about.”
“Very well. First, let’s deal with the easy items,” Sala said, beginning to count and hand off the shards to the guard next to him.
Once the shards and hearts had been accounted for, Gerald handed over the five medallions. “The King should know that these were found on a group of undead in the Dead Lands. We think that all of his forces will have something like these.”
Sala eyed the medallions for a moment before motioning another guard over to him. “Take these to Sir Jones. Let him know that Lord Stoutheart and his group brought them, and I don’t know how to reward them for doing so.” Taking them, the guard hurried off. “Did you wish to wait for his return?” Sala asked as they watched the guard leave.
“No, we’ll just take the chit for what you know we turned in. I’m sure we’ll be seeing Jones in the very near future,” Gerald said.
“Very well.” Sala quickly wrote out the slip for them. “Be well, Alpha Company. I expect to see you all in the coming days.”
“We will be,” Gerald replied.
“Off to the bank,” Alburet commented as they walked back toward the carriages.
The ride to the bank was quiet like the one to the castle had been, because each kept thinking about the fourteen dead Infernals. Once they arrived and entered the bank, they spotted a number of guards near the teller closest to the door, with a sign proclaiming it to be the line for the Two-souled.
There were only two groups ahead of them, and neither took long to conduct their business. Stepping forward when called, Gerald handed the two chits to the teller.
“Lord Stoutheart, Lady Stoutheart, Lord Darkhand, Lady Darkhand, and Lady Darkhand,” the teller said, looking up with wide eyes. “Please give me a moment to fill this.”
“Gerald, what was on those slips?” Karen asked.
“Just our names and titles,” Gerald said. “I didn’t expect that kind of reaction.”
The teller returned a moment later with the head of the bank. Morgan Warburg gave them a pleasant nod as he watched the teller hand over a large bag of coin. “Lords, Ladies, it is a pleasure to see you. Might I have a moment of your time?”
“I’m willing,” Gerald said.
“As am I,” Alburet added.
“Please come to my office once you are done,” Warburg said, then left them to conclude their business.
Once everyone had accepted the money, they got the notification that they had leveled to ninety-eight. As they headed for the office, Alburet looked back at Tiny and Bob. “Head on home. Let your wives know that we’ll be having another party tonight, and on shorter notice.”
Tiny’s normally taciturn face broke into a smile, “Of course, master.”
“I can’t wait to see his new get-up,” Bob said, vanishing a moment after Tiny.
In the office, they took seats across from Warburg. “Thank you for coming,” the older Dwarf said. “I’ve been meaning to approach you both for several weeks, but events of late have become rather chaotic.”
“They have,” Gerald agreed.
“As new Lords, I wished to invite you to open accounts for your Houses. These would be established as a way of protecting and investing money for your House’s future. This way, even if something were to happen to you, your House would be able to keep functioning.”
“I should do that,” Gerald agreed. “My heir should be cared for even after I leave.”
“Indeed,” Warburg smiled.
“I don’t have an heir to worry about,” Alburet commented.
“You are a very influential person in the city, Lord Darkhand. I would suggest that you consider finding an heir to carry your name and legacy,” Warburg earnestly suggested.
“We’ll be lookin’ into it,” Stacia said from beside Alburet.
Alburet glanced at her, but nodded, “What do we have to do to open an account?”
“Just sign these forms and deposit at least ten thousand gold,” Warburg said, pushing forms over to both Alburet and Gerald.
Gerald picked up the stack of papers and began to read them, and Alburet just waited. Once Gerald signed his, Alburet followed suit. “You didn’t even look at yo
urs, did you?” Gerald asked.
“My lawyer did,” Alburet deadpanned.
Marysue snorted, “He’s my lawyer, not yours.”
“Fair, but if the form had something wrong, he wouldn’t have signed it,” Alburet said.
“I’ll just need the deposits,” Warburg said.
Both men placed a large stack of gold on the desk. Warburg collected them, then handed each an unadorned signet ring. “Just place these on your fingers and they will become your signet rings.”
As Alburet and Gerald accepted the rings and put them on, the bands shimmered and were suddenly showing the insignia of each House. Warburg solemnly shook hands with each of them before showing them out.
“We’ll see you in two hours?” Marysue asked as they crossed the lobby.
“For Tiny’s party, aye,” Stacia said. “Ya always be welcome.”
“Maybe we should Homestone home, then,” Gerald said. “It would give us more time to get ready.”
“A good idea,” Marysue said as she pulled out her Homestone.
“Head home,” Gerald told his driver. “We’ll be there shortly.”
“As you say, Lord,” the driver said, lightly snapping the reins.
“Knitoc, it’ll be the same for us. We’ll be holding a party for Tiny tonight,” Alburet told the Destroyer.
“I shall make sure the carriage is brought home, Lord,” Knitoc said. Astov closed the door he had opened for them and jumped onto the back of carriage.
“Let’s go home, ladies,” Alburet said, pulling out his Homestone, only to discover that the others were ahead of him.
~*~*~
Alburet returned home to a number of Infernals gathered much like they had been for Bob’s party. Pointing at the ground before the throng, he spoke with purpose, “Come to me, Tiny.”
The cloud of smoke that heralded the appearance of an Infernal was larger than normal, like it had been with Bob. When it cleared, Tiny stood there proudly, a broad smile framing his face. Tiny stood fully ten feet in height now, his horns curled into powerful ram’s horns. His body was covered in plate armor with underlying scale mail and was a reflection of the ornate armor Fluff had given the image on Alburet’s crest. He held a strong tower shield in his right hand, while his left grasped a formidable double-headed axe.
“Where did that armor come from?” Alburet asked.
“It was a gift from the Dark Lord,” Rachel said, appearing at Tiny’s side. “It was presented to us a few days ago, in anticipation of him becoming a Destroyer Lord. I was told to tell you that it was to ensure your crest was accurate.”
Alburet’s eye twitched once, “The Dark Lord does love to surprise me, it seems.”
“Does it not suit me?” Tiny asked, the smile starting to waver.
“Of course it does,” Karen said quickly.
“It does,” Alburet agreed. “I just wasn’t expecting you to have armor more ornate than the other Destroyer Lords.”
Tiny’s smile came back. “I am glad for it. It makes me known as your Destroyer to any who see me, master.”
“Ya did good with the drawin’, Fluff,” Stacia said. “Does it nay look as ya thought it would?”
“I didn’t think…” Fluff trailed off, walking over to Tiny and around him, briefly touching pieces of the armor. “It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you for making it mine, Fluff,” Tiny rumbled softly as he knelt on a knee to bring his head closer to her level. “I will always cherish this gift.”
Fluff's beautiful smile wreathed her face, “You’re welcome, Tiny. Thank you for always being there for us.”
“I think he looks amazing,” Bob added. “Almost as good as I do.”
Several of the Infernals watching blew raspberries at the Imp, who laughed at them and slapped Tiny on the back of the leg. “Okay, fine. He’s the best partner I could hope for.”
That got a round of agreement from the group of Infernals, and Tiny held out his hand to Bob so he could slap it. “I feel the same, Bob.”
“Okay folks, we have a little over an hour before the party,” Alburet chuckled. “Gerald and Marysue will be here soon. Let’s get everything in order for our guests.”
Bowing to him, the crowd dispersed, but Tiny and Rachel didn’t leave with them. “Lord,” Rachel said, stepping forward, “thank you.” She kissed both of his cheeks and stepped back. “I love my husband dearly, and to see him garner the attention I always believed he deserved fills me with happiness. This is all thanks to you.”
“I don’t think it’s all because of me,” Alburet replied. “Tiny has time and again been the steadfast shield that allowed us to overcome our foes.”
“Come, Rachel,” Tiny rumbled, taking her hand. “They need to get ready, and these are words that should be shared later.”
“Of course,” Rachel smiled. “We’ll see you in a bit.”
As the couple moved away, they were joined by another few Succubi. Alburet watched them go. He blinked when his arms were taken by the women he loved. “Huh?”
“We should be goin’ to get clean, aye?”
“Oh yes, a proper scrubbing is called for,” Karen winked as she opened the door to the manor.
“I get his back,” Fluff said.
“I’ll get his front,” Karen grinned.
“And I be getting’ both of ya,” Stacia laughed as they dragged him into the home.
Alburet
Demon Lord Summoner
Ambassador for the Dark Lord
Level 98
Strength: 397 (0)
Agility: 397 (0)
Constitution: 852 (430)
Intelligence: 452 (30)
Wisdom: 1,817 (1,060)
Charisma: 427 (0)
Health: 13,420
Mana: 23,070
Spells:
Demon Skin-Rank 10
Demonic Retribution- Rank 9
Summon Imp Lord
Fire Blast- Rank 9
Sap Strength- Rank 9
Demonic Haze- Rank 9
Summon Destroyer Lord
Demonic Vitality- Rank 9
Fire Burst- Rank 9
Summon Greater Succubus
Abilities:
Personal Spells
Flame Weapon
Copy
Infernal Upgrade: (Succubus- Ally)
Infernal Upgrade: (Imp- Big Boom)
Infernal Upgrade: (Destroyer- Demonic Shell)
Infernal Upgrade: (Succubus- Comforting Touch)
Copy
Infernal Upgrade: (Succubus- Essence Drain)
Still Caster
Infernal Upgrade: (Imp- Burning Cleanse)
Infernal Upgrade: (Destroyer- Savage Roar)
Infernal Upgrade: (Destroyer- Bash)
Imp Storm
Infernal Upgrade: (Imp- Infernal Flames)
Demonic Inspiration
Infernal Upgrade: (Destroyer- Thunderous Stomp)
Ranged Fire Burst
Racial Abilities:
Cast spells without verbal components
Physical damage reduction 25%
Magical damage reduction 10%
Influence emotions
Fire resistance 125%
Reputation gains at tenth value
All stats increase by 4 points per level
Can use any weapon regardless of strength required
Double movement speed when minion present
Maxed reputation with all Infernals and Worshippers of the Dark Lord
All Debuffs last half as long
Immune to movement impairing effects
Immune to mind altering effects
Chapter Twenty-four
They met back up at the Guild Hall. The group walked inside, then came to a stop just inside the door. Kauree and Vanessa were tangled in each other’s arms, clearly caught making out. Gerald raised an eyebrow as he moved further into the room. “Vanessa, I don’t mind who you are in a relationship with, but during working hours is not the time to enga
ge in such activities.”
The couple separated, both of them clearly embarrassed at having been caught. “You’re right, Lord. It won’t happen again.”
“It be my fault. I surprised her and am the one who initiated—” Kauree began, but cut off when Gerald held up a hand.
“It’s past. Just keep it off duty for her,” Gerald interrupted her. “I take it that since you’re here, Violet is resupplying again.”
“Aye, we be takin’ today off,” Kauree replied. “We be headin’ for the Lunari continent tomorrow. The Trolls and Vermin be almost done; they be droppin’ the quest items for each other, as well.”
“Which means the other zones are going to be picking up in competition,” Alburet muttered.
Gamer for Love (Alpha World Book 8) Page 22
