“It’s not good,” he began bluntly. “I count seven ghouls. There’re also three other entrances into the room. Two have shut doors, so we may be alright with those, but the one directly across from here is wide open.”
“Yes, you are right,” Venna replied, oddly calm. “The numbers are not in our favor here, but the odds are.”
“You’re going to have to explain that,” Broda said bluntly.
“Of course, dear Broda,” Venna answered. “Unlike the skeletons we faced earlier, ghouls are fairly mindless. They will attack the living relentlessly but do so with little regard for their own safety, nor do they employ any sort of strategy. We should be able to bait them into coming after us, rather than having to fight them in the open. With any luck, we can pull them into the hallway and fight them one at a time, without having to worry about one setting off an alarm or calling in any reinforcements.”
“So, we just open the door and let them come to us?” Khorim asked.
“It should work,” Venna replied confidently.
“What if we set a perimeter just inside the door instead?” I asked. “The hallway is only wide enough for one of us. While it will force them to come at us one at a time, we’re also going to face the same limitation. Plus, it may be difficult to switch positions in the middle of the fight. Whoever is in front may wind up having to fight all seven ghouls.”
We debated the merits of both strategies for a while. Venna’s plan allowed greater defense but would limit our ability to strike at our foes. My plan admittedly entailed greater risk but also permitted the entire party to bring their damage to bear on the enemy. In the end, the benefit of the additional damage, and not putting the burden of the entire battle on one person’s shoulders won out.
Once we were stacked up behind the door, Khorim threw it open, and we rushed into position. Stel took up the center just inside the doorway, flanked by Broda and Venna. Khorim stood behind the three, blades drawn, ready to strike at any target of opportunity. I was in the rear, still in the hallway just outside the room. From my slightly elevated position in the passage, I immediately began firing over the heads of my companions, striking the ghouls just as they became aware of our presence.
Unlike the skeletons, the ghouls had actual bodies, so I had much bigger targets to choose from. I took aim and fired repeatedly at any ghoul that dared to leave itself open. Within seconds, I had felled two of the putrid creatures, but by then, the rest had closed with our makeshift line and begun pounding on my companions relentlessly.
Khorim was a blur of activity, slashing and stabbing around and between the line, inflicting grievous wounds with his flashing blades. Two more ghouls fell in quick succession to the combined efforts of his blade work and the merciless strikes from our front line.
Suddenly, Broda cried out in pain. A ghoul had managed to slash her across the arm, rending her mail and scoring a series of deep gouges into her flesh. The hammer she held in her mangled arm dropped to the ground as her limb fell limply to her side. She recovered quickly, however, and smashed the ghoul’s skull to a pulp with her remaining weapon. Then, without a word, she dropped back from the line as Stel and Venna closed ranks behind her.
There were only two ghouls remaining at that point as I made eye contact with Khorim. His face was a mask of concern, clearly filled with worry over his wife’s condition. I motioned for him to tend to her as I covered his position and took aim at one of the remaining undead. I fired over Stel’s head and watched as my Swarm infused arrow split and both shafts buried themselves in the ghoul’s skull. It fell just as Venna’s mace crashed into the final ghoul and drove it to the ground where Stel’s broadsword cleaved its skull in two.
As soon as the battle was over, Venna was at Broda’s side and began tending to her wound. While she did so, Stel and I immediately began scanning the room and the other doorways, alert for any additional threats. When it remained clear after a few moments, I looked to see how Broda was doing.
As I glanced over, Venna had just finished casting a healing spell on Broda, and I watched as her wound stitched itself together. The magic of the spell quickly staunched the flow of blood and then closed the wound as I looked on.
“You were lucky, my friend,” Venna said as the wound finished healing. “Such wounds often come with dire effects. You could have easily been paralyzed or worse.”
“Bah,” Broda replied. “It’ll take more than a scratch like that to bring me down.”
“All the same, it would be better for you to avoid receiving any further scratches,” Venna admonished.
Once I was sure that Broda was no longer in any danger, I began inspecting the fallen ghouls for any loot. Unfortunately, they carried nothing of value, and after a quick look around the room, I came up empty yet again.
Stel was keeping an eye on the two closed doors at either end of the room, and I knew that we would likely have to investigate each one in time, so I retrieved my lamp oil and coated the hinges of both doors. Once I finished with the second door, I glanced over at Stel to get his attention. I nodded to him, indicating the open passage that lay across from where we had entered and made my way over to check it out. Since there was no door barring that hallway, it presented the most risk, and that made it the highest priority for investigation. While Khorim was our usual scout, he was still tending to Broda, and I didn’t want to wait any longer before checking the open passage for any signs of potential danger.
As I started down the hallway, the air was still and musty. Even with Enhanced Sight, there was little to see save the crumbling stone of the walls. I cautiously made my way down the passage and listened intently for any sounds or disturbances. When the passage turned at a sharp angle, I carefully peeked around it, only to find the entire hallway had collapsed just beyond that point. It was obvious that no enemies would be coming from this dead end, and I was relieved to be able to turn back to rejoin my companions.
The others were gathered around debating in hushed tones when I returned. I joined them and quickly related what I had found in the collapsed tunnel. Since we could rule out the passage for any further investigation, the debate resumed over which door we should try first.
After much back and forth, we could find no good reason to choose one over the other. We decided to simply open each one in turn and see what we could determine from peering beyond the portals. Once we had arranged ourselves around the first door, Khorim slowly opened it and gazed intently into the deep blackness on the other side. He then closed the door again and wedged a spike into the frame to pin it shut.
“That one leads to a long hallway,” he reported. “I can’t see the end of it.”
Moving to the opposite side of the room, we repeated the process on the other door.
“It’s a much shorter passage, I can see another door just at the edge of my vision,” was Khorim’s verdict.
“We should investigate this one first,” Venna said.
“I agree,” Broda replied. “The threat is much closer.”
We advanced carefully down the hallway, with Khorim in the lead, as he scanned carefully for any unwanted surprises. Once we reached the end of the passage, I joined him at the door and once again oiled the hinges for him. But this time, instead of putting the oil back in my pack, I simply handed the bottle off to him. With a nod, he placed the container in his own pack, and we waited a few moments for the oil to do its work.
Soon enough, Khorim began to gently pry open the door, but he had barely gotten it clear of the frame when he backed away hurriedly.
“More ghouls,” he whispered. “I count six. But one of them looks very different from the others.”
Venna nodded and then crept to the doorway for her own evaluation. As she peered through the slim gap, I saw her body stiffen as she caught sight of whatever it was that lay beyond.
“There is a ghast leading them,” she said once she made her way back to us. “They will be much more difficult to defeat than that last bunch.”
“Yes,” she replied, suppressing a shiver. “Ghasts are somewhat intelligent. What’s worse is that the ghouls will obey them, so we cannot rely on them to attack us mindlessly.”
“Khorim,” Venna asked. “Did you notice if the room had any other exits?”
“I don’t think so. Let me double check.”
Khorim took a second quick look and returned, confirming that there were no other exits from the room ahead of us.
“This may work in our favor,” Venna said.
“What are you thinking, my dear?” Stel inquired.
“We can use our original strategy—draw them into the corridor and take them out one by one. If they don’t follow, Dae and I can target the ghast and remove their leadership,” she replied.
“It’s risky, but again, probably our only option,” Stel said after a moment’s consideration.
It was risky, to say the least. Stel was the most heavily armored among us, which meant he would be taking the lead position holding off the undead abominations. The fact that he was willing to take on such a huge gamble to fulfill his wife’s quest spoke volumes of his courage and commitment, and I couldn’t help but admire his resolve.
The rest of the group agreed with Venna’s plan, so we readied ourselves for the inevitable onslaught. Before Stel could open the door and set off the battle, I had him hold off just a moment so that I could add in a little surprise. When I finished and Stel had observed what I had done, he favored me with a grim smile as I took up my position behind him.
Stel threw the door wide open and let loose a battle cry, announcing our presence to the undead. Five of the ghouls charged him immediately, while one of them held back. When I examined the lone, cautious one, I could see it was clearly different from the rest—it was larger, and somehow more menacing and a glimmer of evil intelligence shone from its eyes.
I aimed for those eyes and let loose a shot as Venna began an incantation by my side, and my arrow, infused with Stun, struck the creature in its shoulder. Although the monster rocked back with the force of the impact, it seemed to be otherwise unaffected. The ghast stared back at me with intense hatred and snarled loudly as all five ghouls seemed to instantly turn their focus on me. But just as the ghouls veered towards me, Venna completed her spell and the ghast began to howl in pain.
A faint glow shone around the ghast for a bare moment as it roared its agony. As I took aim with another arrow, the faint outline of a status bar materialized above the ghast’s head. I instantly knew that the icon represented the creature’s health and noted that it appeared to be down about 25%. With the ghast in my sights, I let loose a Swarm arrow and watched as the bar ticked down again when the shaft split and the two arrows lodged in the ghast’s chest.
When I took a quick glance around, I could see status bars hovering above the other ghouls as well. While I was pleased to have access to additional information on my enemies, the fight obviously took precedence over my little revelation. Since Stel was managing to hold off the ghouls, with Khorim and Broda doing their best to aid him, I returned my attention to the wounded ghast.
Venna was chanting another spell as I took aim yet again. Her incantation ended just as I released another arrow, and our combined attacks struck the ghast simultaneously.
Two Swarm arrows sprouted from the ghast—one sticking out from its throat, while the second took the creature through its gruesome maw. As it rocked back from the twin impacts, Venna’s spell bathed the abomination in a faint light. The strained gurgle of pain that escaped its mouth was muffled by the arrow protruding from between its jagged teeth, but it quickly died off as the ghast fell to the floor, motionless. With the ghast out of the fight—at least for the moment—I turned my attention to the ghouls Stel was still holding at bay.
Stel was still managing to keep the ghouls back, but while my attention had been focused on the ghast, something had gone terribly wrong. Broda was now several yards behind Stel hovering over the still form of Khorim lying on the ground. I could clearly see several gashes on his arms and deep claw marks that had torn through his leather armor, leaving a jagged series of furrows across his chest. Venna had already sprung into action and was making her way towards Khorim’s battered body, so I focused on helping Stel ward off the remaining ghouls.
I wiped the image of Khorim’s bloody wounds from my mind and began firing around Stel and into the ghouls that were now clogging the hallway in front of him. We coordinated our efforts, as I called out my shots and Stel leaned side to side, providing a clear line of fire. Before long, we had whittled the ghouls down and worked together to finish the last one quickly. As soon as the final ghoul was defeated, Stel collapsed in exhaustion, having fought the longest and hardest of all of us. I spared a glance at Khorim and was relieved to see that he was now sitting upright as Venna and Broda continued tending to his wounds. With everyone else’s attention diverted, I nocked an arrow and stood watch over my companions as they recovered from the battle.
“The tripwire you laid across the hall saved his life,” Stel said to me after a short while.
“Khorim tried to stab one of them, but another got hold of him before he could pull back,” Stel explained. “If the ghoul hadn’t tripped over the wire, Khorim would be dead now.”
Stel rose and walked over to me.
“Sit, rest awhile; I’ll keep watch for a bit,” he offered, as he took over the sentry duty.
I nodded in thanks and took advantage of the opportunity, since my nerves were still running high from the battle, and I could use a quick break. I sat down on the cold stone floor and watched as Khorim finally rose to his feet and tentatively began stretching his wounded muscles. Venna had healed him, but the newly mended flesh was clearly still bothering him. Broda hovered over him as he worked out the kinks, and the concern was obvious on her face.
When Khorim had recovered sufficiently, the group gathered together again, and we crossed over into the chamber. As we began searching the room for any loot, Khorim made his way beside me.
“I owe you my life,” he said, and the formality of his tone was unmistakable.
“I’m sure we will all be saving each other’s lives repeatedly. Think nothing of it,” I replied, somewhat uncomfortably.
“True, but I won’t dismiss your actions so quickly,” he answered. “I didn’t miss you taking out the alarm bell in that first room either.”
Khorim paused a moment and looked at me knowingly before he spoke again.
“This entire quest—Venna’s future with her God, all of it would be in great peril were it not for you. None of us has failed to notice what you have done. Minimize your efforts if you like but know that we will not.”
I was struck by the utter sincerity of his words. I hadn’t thought that I had done anything special, but Khorim and the others clearly disagreed. I was touched by what he had said, and I placed my hand on Khorim’s shoulder and looked him straight in the eye as I replied.
“Thank you, Khorim. I’m just glad to see that you escaped any permanent harm. I will always do my best for all of you, and I’ve come to think of you as my friends. I hope you feel the same and will consider letting me join you once we have completed Venna’s quest.”
As if by magic, Broda suddenly appeared at Khorim’s side. She pointedly took my hand and removed it from Khorim’s shoulder before addressing me directly.
“We had already spoken about it and were going to invite you to remain with us even before you proved yourself so valuable,” she began. “Just keep your pretty hands off my husband, and everything will be fine.”
She said the last part with an expression that I couldn’t quite read. Broda had a way about her that eluded me, and I often had trouble determining whether she was serious or simply joking with me. I thought perhaps my playful antics with Khorim were just a running joke between us, but Broda’s enigmatic words and expressions left much doubt in my mind. Unfortunately, it was yet another subje
ct that would have to wait for a later time, since we still had a dungeon to clear.
Before I could reply to her, Stel announced that they had finished clearing the room, but had found nothing. While the total lack of any loot so far was discouraging, treasure was not our primary purpose here. Venna’s quest clearly outweighed any short-term material gains. Still, I hoped that our luck might turn at some point.
Everyone took a moment making sure their gear had remained in place, and all was in order before we moved on yet again. Then we retraced our steps, headed back down the hall and eventually arrived at the doorway we had bypassed earlier. Khorim made a quick check and found that the hallway behind it was still clear, so we proceeded down the passage.
We walked down the hallway cautiously for a while, until another doorway came into view. As the rest of us paused a fair distance away, Khorim approached the door and carefully oiled the hinges. After waiting patiently for the oil to penetrate, he slowly pried open the door and peered into the darkness beyond. Then he closed it softly behind him and returned to where we huddled in the hallway to make his report.
“More ghouls—four this time,” he began. “But something else as well. I don’t know what it is, but it’s definitely not another ghast.”
“Describe it, please,” Venna asked.
Khorim nodded in response before offering his evaluation.
“It’s clearly undead, but this one’s wearing armor and has weapons. Also, it’s not just standing around—the thing was sitting in a chair. It almost looked like it was resting.”
Venna pursed her lips and was clearly not pleased with his description. After a moment’s pause, she responded.
“It’s a wight... It must be. This will be a difficult foe, but it likely means we’re getting closer to the source of this infestation,” she reluctantly pronounced.
“How do we kill it?” Broda asked bluntly.
“The same as the others; inflict a lot of damage. It’s just that the wight will fight more like one of us rather than an animated corpse,” Venna explained. “It probably cannot command the ghouls as the ghast did, but it will attack us viciously.”
Second Skin: Fractures Page 32