“What about us?” Karen shouted, waking Fluff and Stacia. “You’re going to risk the quest to save him? Fuck him! We need you.”
“Wha’ be the problem?” Stacia asked.
“He’s going to get himself killed and fail the quest,” Karen snapped.
“Al?” Fluff asked.
“I just talked with Vicky. During the conversation, I was reminded of gaming with Alvin and David. Our last game together had us saving the world from two evil gods and saving the High King. Alvin’s words make me think I should give the ring to Tyr. I don’t want to either, as I want to be sure we succeed.”
“You’re betting our happiness on this,” Karen shouted.
“Karen, ya be upset, but the man ya love be who he be. Ya know he helps those around him, even when it costs him. Do ya really want him to change that?”
“Yes… I want him to be selfish, just this once,” Karen answered as her voice cracked.
Her distress stabbed deeply into Alburet’s heart, making him reconsider.
“Asthore, what does ya heart be saying?” Stacia asked.
“That hurting any of you is the last thing I want to do.”
“Then don’t give away our chance,” Karen sniffled, grabbing Alburet and squeezing him tightly. “Please, Al... don’t leave me.”
“I won’t, Karen. I won’t leave any of you. I won’t give him the ring.” The words helped ease Karen’s distress, but something about them felt wrong to him.
Fluff and Stacia moved over to put Karen between the three of them, helping to comfort her. The four of them sat there until a knock came at their tent post, along with a message that breakfast was started.
“Come on. Today is the day,” Alburet said. “We’ll finish this quest and then we’ll claim our rewards from Vicky. I already told her my boon is you both coming with us to Delta World.”
“Really?” Karen asked.
“I don’t want anything else,” he replied. “She said that you’ll have to step out of testing to sign a lot of forms and waivers in person. Apparently, she can’t guarantee it either, only that she’ll lobby strenuously on our behalf.”
“I still hate her,” Karen muttered, “but if she does what she says, I’ll try to not hate her as much.”
“I’ve always liked Victoria,” Fluff commented. “I’m sure she’ll come through for us if we’re successful.”
“I trust in the Overlord,” Stacia said as she broke the hug and got to her feet. “Come on now, ya layabouts. We have an important quest to do.”
“We’ll succeed,” Fluff said confidently as she got to her feet.
“Damned right we will,” Karen said, trying to push past her moment of weakness.
“For the women I love with all my heart,” Alburet said, helping Karen up along with him. Dipping her, he kissed her passionately before standing her back upright.
“It be me turn now,” Stacia said as she grabbed Alburet and dipped him for a deep kiss.
Set back on his feet a few moments later, Alburet was still trying to focus when Fluff moved in for a kiss. Returning the kiss, Alburet let his need for them steel his heart against the idea of giving the King the ring. Sorry world, but my love is worth even more.
When the group left their tent, Alburet saw Gerald and Marysue talking with Ioaniss. “Marysue, can I speak with you for a minute?”
Turning to Alburet, she gave him a smile and came over. “Of course, Al. Is there a problem?”
“Come inside for a moment,” Al opened the tent flap for her.
Puzzled, Marysue did as he asked. “Okay?”
Letting the flap close behind them so they wouldn’t be overheard, Alburet quickly explained what he had been told. Marysue’s smile became brilliant and she kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Al. Gerald also told me you would be okay with the scholarship for Kaylee McMullen. I’ll make sure the right people are selected to handle it, and that it is everything it can be.”
“Thanks,” Alburet said. “I just wanted to let you know that the word has been passed and when your six months are up, it’ll be up to you.”
“I’ll make sure we join you all,” Marysue said. “Thank you again.” Leaving the tent in a rush, Marysue was exuding happiness, which helped bring Alburet out of the funk he felt when Marysue had mentioned Kaylee’s full name.
“Everythin’ okay, Asthore?” Stacia asked, sticking her head back into the tent.
“Yeah,” Alburet replied, leaving the tent and packing it away.
“Alburet,” Mother called out to him. “May I join you for breakfast?”
“That’s fine, Mother,” Alburet said, motioning her over to where Karen and Fluff were sitting.
“I wanted you to know that a gift will be arriving for you later.”
“Another gift from the Dark Lord? Hasn’t he done enough?”
Mother’s light laughter brought all eyes to her. “No, it’s not from the Dark Lord. It will be from Justice.”
Face blank, Alburet shook his head, “What does he want with me?”
“All day yesterday, they were watching us, with Peace, of course. Justice was impressed with how you comport yourself. His observations and my darling’s observations of you have convinced him to extend another olive branch of reconciliation.”
“Okay? Why do I feel like this is going to be odd?”
“Well, the two of them like to play pranks on each other, even if that means another becomes collateral damage. This time though, I think he’s being forthright. Your love of your wives spoke to him, according to my dearest.”
“I have a bad feeling about this, but I’ll go along with it,” Alburet sighed.
“Good. The Dark Lord was worried you might spurn the offer, which would set them back a little.”
“I wouldn’t want to cause Granddad any problems,” Alburet said sardonically.
Mother’s mouth fell open at Alburet’s term for the Dark Lord before she began to giggle. Her giggles turned into laughter, before finally erupting from her as a full belly laugh.
Ioaniss wandered over, curiosity high in his eyes. “Is everything okay?”
“Al… Alburet… just called… him a grandfather,” Mother gasped between laughs. “Oh, Justice will love you all the more, and I’m sure he’s regretting his jokes now.”
Alburet smiled as he shook his head, “And I’m smart enough to continue to call you Mother and not match you to him.”
Mother’s laughter died off as she wiped tears from her eyes. “Because you are sweet, and know that no woman wants to be called old.”
“A smart man,” Ioaniss said as he scribbled something in his journal. “Sorry to interrupt, but I wished to see if Fluff had made any other drawings that focused on this raid.”
“I didn’t. I only drew our three fallen,” Fluff replied. “I can make you a quick sketch of the fight with the Elder Sandworms if you’d like?”
“Please,” Ioaniss said. “I don’t have your speed or skill at drawing.”
“As soon as I finish breakfast,” Fluff said, taking the offered bowl from the guard handing them out.
“Of course. Thank you, Lady Darkhand,” Ioaniss bowed slightly from the waist.
As Ioaniss walked away, the group dug into their meal and focused on what was to come when camp broke.
Chapter Thirty-eight
When camp broke, everyone was ready for a fight. What they didn’t expect was Experiment 3, which turned out to be an Ancient Decayed Sandworm. The behemoth came out of the ground in a geyser of sand, swallowing nearly a hundred people. All of the natives reacted at once; most of the Two-souled were shocked at the sheer size of the beast, costing them precious seconds.
Alburet was startled, but that didn’t stop him from getting the details of the monster they faced. “Holy fucking gods, it’s a skyscraper mini-boss.”
Experiment 3 (Level ???)
29,823,673/30,000,000 Health
Dead Bringer, Volatile Vomit, Death Eater
“Everyone w
ho can attack from range do so,” Roberto shouted. “Best damage dealers get on the beast; tanks, stay back and be ready to taunt it when it goes to burrow.”
Surging forward, the Two-souled who could do the most melee damage rushed to get into the fight, while all the casters stepped further back as they launched their spells. Fluff Leaped over the people around the mob, landing against the side of the Sandworm. Her claws dug in, allowing her to find purchase and do damage. Karen called for Tiny as she rushed forward; seeing her coming, Tiny turned for her and knelt. When her foot landed on his shield, he surged to his feet and flung her up and over the others. Mirroring Fluff, Karen began to climb her way up the mob. Seeing them in action, others began to copy them, climbing up the sides of the behemoth.
Alburet, along with Bob and his Copies, took to the air, raining fire down on the Experiment. Joined by the other Infernals and Angels, the damage coming in was adding up quickly. After thirty seconds, the mini-boss had lost almost three million health.
Shuddering, Experiment 3 tipped to the side enough to vomit out the people it had swallowed, thick green-black sludge covering their bodies. The mob retracted into the sands, knocking off those who had climbed onto it.
“Heal them and try to get them out of that sludge,” Roberto commanded.
“It’s moving,” one of the people close to the vomit yelled, backing away from the pool of viscous fluid.
“Bob, aim for the fluid… are there more than a hundred people there?” Alburet asked, puzzled.
One of the bodies covered in vomit got to its feet and attacked a Priest that had gone closer to use an area heal on the afflicted. Chaos broke out near the scene as the vomit itself tried to start attacking people. A closer look showed that there were more bodies than the hundred that had been swallowed. The moment became more chaotic when those covered in the sludge started to attack each other.
“Fuck it,” Alburet snapped. “Bob, Fire Burst the sludge.”
“He has the right idea. Burn the vomit off,” Mother ordered from nearby. “Spread it out so it’s covered completely.”
Everyone looked up in shock when dozens of Fire Bursts suddenly detonated on top of the pile of bodies and sludge. The vomit seemed to recoil and tried to minimize the area where it contacted the flames. As it did, the wounded allies and the undead that had been attacking hidden under the sludge became visible.
The shock wore off when the targets were visible, and those nearby quickly started to crush the undead that had come up with their friends. Over twenty of those swallowed hadn’t come out with the vomit, and faces were grim as everyone who could get into the fight worked to end the undead.
“Right flank, run!” Aria yelled.
The Archangels on that flank reacted instantly, running away from where they were. Alburet looked that way in time to see a massive disturbance roiling the ground.
“Stacia, get Marysue out of there!” Alburet yelled.
Stacia had stayed next to Marysue when Alburet went into the air, acting as her guard. At Alburet’s yell, Stacia grabbed Marysue and launched herself into the air. As she gained height, KJ slammed into her side, sending Stacia and Marysue hard to the side. That saved Stacia and Marysue, but KJ was caught by Experiment 3 when it burst out of the ground again. Stacia set Marysue down when they were clear of the attack, using her wings to provide Marysue some cover from the crush of people who rushed at the mob.
Fluff and Karen were again some of the first ones to begin scaling the Sandworm. The tanks stayed back and taunted the few remaining undead from the first vomit pool while the damage dealers rushed back in to attack. The healers focused on healing their allies who had survived the first swallow, having nothing else to focus on.
Thirty more seconds passed and the raid wasn’t having the same output. The damage was coming in, but slower. Alburet frowned; for an instant, he thought he’d seen the health of Experiment 3 climb by over ten thousand. Shaking his head, he was about to dismiss it when he saw it again. “It’s healing,” Alburet called down to Roberto.
Roberto looked up, puzzled, but looked to be checking something a moment later. Closing in on a minute after the worm had surfaced for the second time, the raid reached three million damage done, and the mob leaned over to spit up the group it had swallowed. The Infernals had been waiting for it and reacted, instantly coating the vomit in flames and burning the vomit off the bodies. Out of the sixty or seventy people it had swallowed, only thirty came out of it, and most of them were on the verge of death. Area heals covered the injured, restoring them as the rest of the raid turned on the fifty or more undead that had come out with them.
When they turned on the undead, the raid parties also spread out a bit more to make it harder for the Sandworm to swallow as many of them. Thirty seconds after it vanished, it came back and again it went for Marysue. Having been watching for the disturbance, Aria, Mother, and Alburet’s warning nearly came simultaneously, and was enough to get most of those in the area to safety. Stacia again was able to get Marysue out of range, as she had been waiting for the attack.
The fight continued, the tanks handling the undead from the last vomiting, while the damage dealers dove back into the fight on Experiment 3. During this phase, Roberto was able to confirm that Experiment 3 was healing: when one of their raid members died, the mob healed for their maximum life.
“Make sure to use your damned potions,” Roberto yelled. “If you die inside, it heals for your maximum life.”
That news seemed to light a renewed fire as everyone redoubled their attacks. As the raid got closer to taking another three million life off the mob, everyone tensed, expecting it to release their friends. Just before they reached that mark, Experiment 3 healed twelve-thousand life and a howl of rage went up from the Lunari Berserkers. A moment later, Experiment 3 tilted sideways and regurgitated another round of sludge covered bodies.
With the flow of combat established, and knowing that the mini-boss would aim for groups of healers when it reemerged, the raid soon found the best way to deal with the fight. Tanks moved to be near the healers, so they could mitigate damage and help anyone swallowed survive longer.
Minutes ticked by as the phases of the fight repeated. When Experiment 3 hit half life, there was a tense moment while everyone waited for something to change. Nothing new happened, which left many of the Two-souled looking at each other in apparent confusion as the fight ground on.
When Experiment 3 got down to three million health, things finally changed. A noxious green gas vented from all the wounds it had accrued, and everyone within the cloud started vomiting green-black sludge.
“They need to be cleansed,” Mother said. “Most of the Imps here don’t have that Ability available to them.”
Cursing to himself, Alburet triggered Imp Storm and summoned a horde of Imps. “Cleanse them, kill the sludge, and then focus on whatever you can.”
Bob nodded, and all of Alburet’s Imps— plus the few others who could— started cleansing as fast as they were able. The King and his command staff were first, then they turned to the healers and cleansed them. Every round of vomiting was dealing damage to those afflicted, so they worked as fast as they were able.
Alburet had to leave off casting Fire Blasts for a few seconds to regain some mana after using Imp Storm. Those few seconds let him take in the larger picture again. Experiment 3 didn’t burrow, but did expel the last group it had swallowed. Instead, its skin appeared to shrivel and harden, with ridges of flesh forming around its body. Alburet realized what was happening a moment before the mini-boss fell sideways across a few dozen people, crushing them. It started to roll in a slow circle, pulling more of its massive body above the ground.
Roberto saw what was happening. “Pull back! Try to stay away from it while damaging it. Melee, get well back,” he added as the mob changed direction abruptly, catching a few Lunari who had rushed back at it as soon as they were cleansed.
The last phase of the fight was the most chaotic. Exper
iment 3 had no target as it writhed along the ground, crushing anyone who got near it. It took them several minutes to whittle away the last few million health from it.
When it finally stopped moving, one of the people nearest it cautiously looted the body, causing most of the Two-souled to check their bags to see if they had received any of the loot. Roberto called for a count of all those lost, and warned everyone they would be moving in very short order.
When the report reached the King, Alburet could hear the tallies; close to another thousand dead. Shaking his head, Alburet turned to Gerald. The normally unflappable Defender was staring at him with a stone face.
Gamer for Love (Alpha World Book 8) Page 34
