The undead fell over the course of the next couple of minutes, whittled down one-by-one. As each fell, Hemod had grown increasingly upset.
“It doesn’t matter if you kill them,” Hemod snarled as the last few undead were being killed. “I have other minions waiting for you.”
“We’ll just kill them, too,” Gerald snickered. “We are your punishment from Peace. Better say your prayers to Stein, because Peace shall have no mercy for you.”
Hemod didn’t respond as the fight continued. Another minute later, Stacia and the other Succubi released the Hemod’s Helpers they had been holding aloft. The impact of the fall staggered the Helpers and before they could do much more than stand up, the groups descended on them, butchering them.
Chapter Forty-four
With the mobs killed and looted, they headed further into the building. “Good thing we stuffed our ears,” Ironhand commented over the Raidstone. “I could almost hear them, and I could feel, like, tendrils trying to touch my brain. It was not pleasant... I can only imagine how badly this would have gone otherwise.”
“That’s only one of the tricks we’re likely to face,” Gerald said. “The challenge is going to be finding out what else he has up his sleeve. Al, I need you to dismiss them until we actually get into a fight.”
“The downside to minion classes,” Alburet muttered as he looked at Tiny and Bob. Seeing his look, the minions nodded, understanding. “Call you back soon.” A moment later, Alburet had just Stacia at his side. Violet— seeing the others vanish— dismissed hers as well.
“I always forget about doing that for boss fights,” Violet admitted. “You think they could fix it to not matter.”
“Every class has a drawback of some kind,” Leggylass added.
Minutes went by as they walked. The bottom floor only had a lot of empty cells, besides the entry room. When they had checked everything, Gerald led them to the stairs they had bypassed earlier.
“Next floor is likely admin and records,” Gerald told them. “Our next fight will be there. The third floor is the most likely place we’ll find Hemod. Wait until we’re attacked to bring the minions back. Though I do worry about what they’re basing the boss’ health on, considering the army we have outside.”
“For this one, I’m thinking it’s based on who came inside,” Alburet said.
“Be ready for anything. We know Hemod likes to mind control when he can, but we don’t know what else he might have waiting.” Getting nods from everyone, he turned to face the stairs, “Let’s go find out.”
Before Gerald could put his foot onto the stairs, Ironhand grabbed him and pulled him back from the first step. “Hang on. I see traps.”
“Glad we have a Trapsmith with us,” Gerald said. “We’ll follow you.”
Ironhand went slow, finding a trap or two every couple of steps. The most difficult ones ended up being those attached high on the walls. Alburet resummoned Tiny so the Destroyer could lift Ironhand up to disarm them. As he climbed the stairs, Ironhand took longer to disarm each consecutive trap.
“I’m not sure I’m going to be able to disarm the last few,” Ironhand said when he came back down the stairs. “I almost fumbled that one, and if I had, I can’t even guess what would have happened. It was a vial of black mist.”
“Can I see it?” Alburet asked.
“Sure,” Ironhand handed it to him.
Looking at the mist, Alburet could see little motes that moved randomly inside it. Squinting, he was almost certain that the motes were alive. “I think this is the same type of thing that Carradine used on us under Peace.”
“Make sure that gets put away,” Gerald said. “We don’t want to deal with that right now.”
“What did it do?” Violet asked.
“Waking nightmares that feed on your deepest fears,” Marysue said. “At least, that’s what it did last time.”
“Let’s not do that,” Violet said quickly.
“Use Tiny to set them off, instead? Like back at the Keep.” Ironhand asked.
“If that is what the master requires,” Tiny rumbled, waiting in case he was needed again.
“Not you, but TJ and TW maybe,” Alburet said, Copying Tiny. “I think we should back down the stairs, too.”
“Indeed,” Gerald said before turning to Tiny. “Just get to the door, don’t go past it… and thank you.”
“No thanks are needed, Gerald. I am happy to clear the way for you.”
Once they were down the stairs and a few dozen feet away from the base, TJ and TW went up. A long moment stretched out where the only sound was hooves striking the stone as they climbed up. The sound of several traps going off suddenly filled the air, joined a heartbeat later by roars of pain and rage.
Alburet watched as TJ’s and TW’s health went from full to half to gone in the span of two seconds. “Tiny, what happened?”
“I was engulfed,” Tiny said with a shiver. “Back up, back well up. The door opened when the last trap was triggered and a wave of blackness ate me.”
Gerald motioned everyone back as a faint gibbering, slurping sound came from the stairwell. “Okay, be ready. Summoners, go ahead and bring your minions back out. This thing is already active.”
Violet and Alburet summoned their teams back to them as all eyes stayed on the stairs. An amorphous black blob slowly oozed out of the stairwell, eyes and mouths covering the beast’s exterior. The eyes were glazed with madness and the mouths moving, making unsettling noises. A faint feeling of insanity emanated from the creature.
“A shoggy? Really?” Karen said from well off to the side, where she was stealthed. “I’m fairly certain it should be weak to fire.”
“Light it up, Bob,” Alburet said as he took to the air, not wanting to be near the mob.
All the Imps hit the creature. It turned out to be something called Quivering Madness, and their fire appeared to tickle it more than hurt it. Ironhand’s traps went off as it rolled over them, small sections becoming frozen or sticking in place. The creature just engulfed those parts of itself and kept moving, slowly but inexorably toward them.
“Keep away from it as best you can,” Gerald said. “If it ate TJ and TW, then it can easily eat anyone else here.”
Marysue frowned and cast a Halo half on top of the Quivering Madness and half in front of it. It let out an ear-piercing screech that they could hear through their plugs as it pulled away from the Light magic.
“It’s undead,” Marysue said as she began to throw healing spells at it. “Hit it with healing.”
Alburet pulled out one of his healing potions and broke it on the floor next to the creature, splashing it with the liquid. “No effect. It’s Light magic, not healing that does it.”
“Okay, hem it in as best you can. Ranged, do what you can to hurt it. Melee, stay back, but be ready to engage if needed.”
“I love this place. So far, it’s been so nice to me,” Leggylass commented. “I’ve had too many fights where I have to be careful with my aim. A lot of this stuff has been so large, I can’t possibly miss.”
“This thing has to be the size of a pool,” Fluff murmured as she waited for her chance to help.
“In its current shape,” one of the others agreed.
“It’s changing shape,” Gerald warned. “Be ready.”
The blob thinned down, doubling its width by reducing its height, and started moving faster than it had before. A number of mouths still screamed in pain, but more of them were chanting something that was just muffled enough that the groups facing it couldn’t hear it.
“Can’t contain it at that size,” Marysue said as she dropped another area heal between the raid and it. “If all the melee can stack up, we can keep the area covered in healing. Then you can attack it, too.”
“We’ll do it,” Gerald said. “Everyone, on me.”
The melee all grouped up around it just as the Halo from Marysue faded. The mob lunged at them, but just before it could spread pseudopods around them, another ar
ea healing spell went off on top of them. The tentacles of the beast looked as though they were melting for the second they were inside the range of the effect. As the tentacles withdrew from the spell, the melee were hitting it, taking more of its life away.
“I don’t know how you are managing to resist its voices, but it doesn’t matter,” Hemod snarled at them. “I will regrow my pet after I’ve dealt with you. Dimitry thinks he can make it better, anyway.”
“Okay, we seem to have a plan. We got this,” Gerald said. “Al, can you guys do anything to it?”
“We’re doing a little, but not a lot,” Alburet replied, dodging to the side as a tentacle shot out, trying to bat him out of the air. “We’ll do what we can, but it looks like it’s going to be you and the healers.”
“Fine, we can do it,” Gerald said. “Get as much damage in as you can. I’m going to lead us into the beast step-by-step. Healers, be ready to cast.”
“I have you,” Marysue said. “Don’t go too far too fast, otherwise it might come around you.”
“I won’t let it,” Gerald said.
“We’ll give you time if it happens,” Tiny rumbled. The Destroyers hadn’t gone forward, knowing they would take damage from the spells of the other two healers.
The fight was strangely anti-climactic for them. With the melee able to get close to the mob and the healers doing damage and shielding them from being swallowed, the Quivering Madness was dispatched with ease.
“Fine, I’ll deal with you myself!” Hemod snarled. “Come upstairs, if you dare.”
After looting the body, Gerald waited for everyone else. Violet pulled out a new set of boots and put them on. “Madness Treads: they give me a huge boost if anyone in my group is under mental influence debuffs.”
“Nice,” Leggylass murmured. “I got a ring from it. Standard, but good stat bumps.”
“Okay, folks, next up is Hemod,” Gerald said. “Dismiss the minions again. Once we engage, resummon and get them into the fight. We have no idea what he’s going to be like, but we can assume from the rest of the fights that he’ll try to use sound to influence us. We’ve been fine with the stop-gap earplugs, but we can’t be certain that they will work against the boss. Be prepared to handle your friends if needed.”
“We’ll be fine,” Ironhand said. “I’ll keep a few traps back to encase people if they turn.”
“Yeah, but what happens if you turn?” Violet asked. “Our Succubi work on songs, so with our ears plugged, it probably won’t be possible to stop you that way.”
“Same could be said for you guys,” Leggylass said. “If you turn, your minions will turn with you.”
“I wonder about that,” Alburet said. “Stacia, Tiny, Bob, all of you and your Copies are to attack only Hemod and his Helpers, no matter what I order during the raid.”
“We hear ya order and will follow it,” Stacia said with a smile. “Ya are nay going to be turned. Fluff will nay be, either.”
“She’s right,” Fluff nodded. “I can also break everyone from mind control once. I’ll look for the best time to do so.”
“Okay,” Gerald said, turning to Alburet. “Keep an eye on Marysue if I turn.”
“I doubt you’d be able to hurt her even then,” Alburet smiled.
“Okay, everyone else has been fighting outside, and we need to get this done,” Gerald said as he started for the stairs.
Chapter Forty-five
The second floor contained the offices, filing, and storage rooms. Everything had a thin film of residue covering it. No one really wanted to touch it, knowing that it had come from the Quivering Madness they had killed.
Even though they knew they had to hurry, they searched the floor for more enemies to make sure they wouldn’t be caught from behind. When they found the stairs leading to the third floor, Ironhand had to take the lead again because he spotted more traps.
Everyone started to feel the pressure of time ticking by as Ironhand worked on clearing their way. “If we need, I can send Theo to trip the traps,” Violet offered.
“I can handle these, but they’re taking time,” Ironhand said. “A few of them have been more of those black vials. I’ve been putting those in my bag in case we need them later.”
Gerald’s lips pursed, “Save them. We’ll need them for the next big raid. I have a feeling that one will be the Trolls against the Elves or the Lunari against the Lunine.”
“Ya think tha’ they be comin’ to war again?” Stacia asked.
“Almost certainly,” Gerald told her. “Most of the worlds we end up going to have similar events happen.”
“The hostilities have been risin’,” Stacia mused. “Ya think it will be as bad as this?”
“Different, but not as bad,” Alburet said, taking her hand. “Stormguard will probably be left mostly alone because they’ll be recovering from this. Your sisters will be fine.”
Nodding, Stacia hugged him as they waited for Ironhand to finish. After a few minutes, they heard the sound of glass breaking and Ironhand’s cursing. He came stumbling down the stairs toward them.
All three healers hit him with spells as he came into sight, his body dissolving from the acid that had hit him. Panting when the acid stopped eating him and the healing continued, Ironhand shook his head. “I think I just found my limit.”
“How far from the top?” Gerald asked.
“A dozen steps... I saw at least four more traps,” Ironhand said.
“Violet?” Gerald asked, motioning to the stairs.
Theo, Violet’s Destroyer, bowed his head to her before starting up the stairs. A flash of flame lit the stairwell, but Theo was fine. The next trap was ice spears which, while they took huge chunks of his life, Theo survived. Not waiting, he pushed into the next trap. The crackle of lightning and the smell of ozone was all that was left when the light faded.
“Al?” Gerald said.
Summoning Tiny, Alburet Copied him. “TW, go on up. There’s at least one more trap.”
Nodding, the Copy went up the stairs. The group waited, but nothing seemed to happen. Looking up the stairwell, Gerald saw what appeared to be a TW statue just in front of the door. “Can you dismiss him, Al?”
Dismissing TJ caused TW to vanish as well. “Seems like it. I don’t think he made it to the door, and if we open it, the fight probably starts.”
“We’ll just push into it, then,” Gerald said. “Dismiss the minions again, and be ready to summon them once we engage. Everyone, behind me.”
“Maybe I should go first,” Darkknight suggested. “You’re a bit more important than me.”
“Or me?” Jaxton offered. “He has a point, Gerald. Morale will take a hit if you bite it in here.”
“Fine. Darkknight, you take the lead. Jaxton, follow him, and I’ll be third in,” Gerald said. “Healers, follow us. Damage dealers, come in last. Al, take the back. You have enough health to buy time if something happens.”
“Rear guard, I got it,” Alburet said.
With the order determined, they went up the stairs, knowing that Hemod would be waiting for them— the first real boss fight of the raid.
Darkknight paused by the door before he slammed his shield into it. The door shattered, and the group rushed into the dimly lit room. Across from them was another door; the rest of the dark room was empty.
“Okay, next door,” Gerald said, coughing as a tickle started in his throat.
“Gerald, we have a debuff,” Marysue said. “We have a little over ten minutes to kill the Prophet.”
“Yes, or you will become Puppets of Stein,” Hemod’s voice filled the room.
“Soft enrage timer,” Gerald hissed. “Quick, through the next door! We have a deadline.”
“Not a deadline. I’ll keep you as toys to use against your friends,” Hemod laughed as they rushed across the room.
Darkknight hit the next door at a run and slammed it open, sending him and Jaxton stumbling into the next room. The room was massive, easily taking up most of the t
hird floor. The ceiling went up almost twenty feet overhead, so the dim lights barely illuminated the room.
Hemod stood at the far end of the room, a dozen figures next to him. “This will show you what you get to look forward to. It doesn’t matter if you’ve found a way to stop my words from influencing you.”
The group rushed in and a metal slab slammed across the doorway the instant Alburet cleared it. He and Violet summoned their minions as the dark forms near Hemod started to come forward, crossing patches of light as they did, allowing them to see the Puppets of Stein. The foremost of them was Lord Carradine— or at least what was left of him, followed by some former Stormguard Guards that had previously sided with Stein.
Gamer for Love (Alpha World Book 8) Page 39
