A New Beginning: A Fantasy Adventure (The White Chronicles Book 1)

by J. E. Thompson

  Kaylin had crept over, casting a puzzled look at the succubus. “You know, it’s quicker if you just knife them,” she muttered.

  “Silly elf, you need to treasure the pleasures in life. Particularly when it’s being extinguished. Ooh, I’m on such a high right now,” the succubus continued, almost skipping as she paced through the clearing on her way to the lumber mill, a broad smile on her face. Vexx hissed after her to slow down, then rose to his feet.

  “Come on, Kaylin.”

  The two dungeoneers followed along, hearing a sudden shriek from inside, and then the sounds of glass breaking and furniture clattering. Vexx rushed in as he heard Shyola moan in satisfaction, dodging just in time as the succubus flung a drained corpse against the wall, collapsing on top of a bucket and mop. He looked back to see Shyola wiping her mouth. She was in a room littered with papers, discarded glasses, and various boxes. It seemed to be the main office of the lumber mill, and based on the chairs and bottles scattered around, the place where the night guards did most of their drinking.

  “That one was unsatisfying,” she announced as Vexx entered the open lumber mill. “Like eating pea soup after a wonderful cake. The rest of the mill is clear, though. The fools are rushing about up in the woods chasing after Brundisio. Shall I leave the burning to you, Master?”

  “Yes,” he said, pacing through the empty and dimly lit warehouse floor. There were a few stacks of lumber laying around, and Vexx slowed to look at them, thinking of the bonus they could make if they were to steal some of them. And with a wagon not far off…

  “What are you thinking?” Kaylin asked, an arrow nocked to her bow. She had taken a defensive position beside one of the windows facing up into the hills. The guards had likely just been there mere minutes ago. Vexx glanced around to see a wooden ladder leading up to rafters, a few unattended saws, and various other tools and workbenches beside the walls.

  “I’m thinking we can steal some of these,” Vexx said, tapping the lumber. “As much as we can stuff into the wagon.”

  “Ambitious,” Shyola purred from across the warehouse. “I love it, Master. Anything you require of me?”

  “Just keep watch and take out any guards who come back,” Vexx thought, already summoning Zombie Kallan. He’s a bit down the road, but even undead he should be able to manage the horse. I hope. “Kaylin, help me stack some of these planks by the door. Zombie Kallan and I will load it up.”

  “Sure thing,” she said, as they began piling up the smaller planks. “Is that clatter the wagon coming?” she asked, her ears twitching, but all Vexx could make out were the fake goblin grunts and rattles from the hills nearby. “I guess so,” he said, huffing as he hurried to get the lumber readied. “The guards are sure to notice. Get in position by the window—we’ll handle the rest,” he said, pushing open the huge creaking doors of the lumber mill. There was little point in keeping quiet now. He heaved both of the huge doors open, then stood panting in the open, finally hearing the clack of hooves and wagon wheels.

  He stood up, spotting the faint glow of the wagon’s lantern as it clattered over. Vexx waved his hands, for what little good it will do him. “Over here!” he hissed. The wagon was in the clearing now, approaching the open gate. “Load this up!”

  “Oh, Master?”

  Vexx turned at Shyola’s call. She was at the ground floor window, and Vexx saw Kaylin clambering up to the rafters and hurrying over to a window on the second story. A better firing position, I suppose.

  “What’s going on?” Vexx asked, raising his voice louder than he would have liked just to be heard over the increasing noises in the hills. Brundisio is really putting on quite the performance out there.

  “It’s Brundisio,” Shyola said, making way to him just as the orc leaped through the window. “And that’s not all! The guards are running back, and there are—”

  “Goblins!” Brundisio shouted as he rose to his feet. “A whole pack of them!”

  46

  Chaos in the Lumber Mill

  Vexx rushed over to the side door they had entered, making sure to check all exits and entrances. With this one covered, there was only the ground floor window and the main loading bay. He saw a few guards running back in the distance, and even a few smaller shapes he half-recognized as goblins.

  A raid right now? Who should I focus on? His fingers twitched, then he readied a burst of flames. I’ll blaze a wall in front of the door, Vexx thought, already firing his flames. It’s about time we burned the place down and left, anyway. The grass in a half-circle around the door was burning away now, along with the edge of the warehouse. It wouldn’t stop everyone, but it would sure give them something to think about. Vexx turned, hurrying back to the loading bay doors, noting that Brundisio had joined Zombie Kallan. Together, they were sliding lumber into the wagon.

  “Good thinking,” the orc grunted when he spotted Vexx. “Keep the bastards off us and we’ll get out with plenty of profit to boot.”

  “Right,” Vexx said, rushing to the window. “Just hurry!”

  He glanced out, to see Shyola out in the open, laughing as she slashed her whip at a Lowrie Boy. The man collapsed mid-charge, the whip severing him in half, and a few others hesitated. Then one of them staggered, the dark outline of an arrow jutting out from its shoulder.

  “I don’t need your help, elf!” Shyola shouted. A few other Lowrie Boys arrived, one with a gleaming robe that shone with an inner light as if enchanted with magic. As Vexx watched, he raised a gleaming staff, and he felt a sinking feeling inside as a sparkling missile fired up into the night sky.

  “Vexx, they have a mage!” Shyola called out from the second story, another shot flying just wide of the mage. The mage fired a burst of light into the sky, the light exploding in a shimmering display, its brilliance illuminated both the ground below and in all directions. In the distance, Vexx could make out a swarm of goblins rushing forward.

  “Oh, great,” Brundisio gasped out, joining him at the window. “They’ll draw in reinforcements!”

  “The Lowrie Boys?” Vexx asked, then blinked. “Are you done loading the wagon?” He turned to look back, seeing Zombie Kallan balancing a huge tree trunk on his shoulder, forcing it into the wagon.

  “No, I don’t know what your necromancy does, but he’s not holding back. Mumbled something like ‘he’s got the rest.’ Most useful Kallan’s ever been. But we need to leave.”

  “That we do,” Vexx said, firing a fireball as the Lowrie Boys began encircling Shyola, one lunging forward with a spear. He collapsed to the ground, shrieking as Vexx’s fireball burned against his leather armor. “Shy, get out of there! We’re leaving!”

  Shy turned, taking a few steps forward. Then the mage pointed his staff forward, firing a blue bolt that burst on her left leg, tendrils of ice freezing it in place. She glanced up, immobile, struggling to move. “Master! Help!”

  Vexx grimaced, firing a fireball at the mage, who deflected it with a wave of frost magic that sent it sputtering into the air, only to disappear into nothingness. Frost mages are such cold-blooded assholes, Vexx thought, firing a small firebolt that exploded on Shyola’s leg. She gasped, then lurched forward as Vexx cleared the window. Shyola leaped in, rolling into the floor, then gingerly rubbed at her reddened leg.

  “Ooh, it’s so tingly! He almost gave me frostbite back there. You’ll warm me up later, yes?”

  Vexx roughly dragged her aside just as another frost bolt soared past. “Get to the wagon,” he grunted, clambering back to his feet. “Kaylin, get out of there!” he shouted, firing a burst of flames into the corner of the lumber mill. “I’m going to burn it down!”

  “Just a second,” she shouted, still loosing arrows from the second story window. “They’re moving around the barn. Goblins right behind. Ah!”

  “Kaylin?” Vexx paused a moment from setting fires, rushing over to another corner of the warehouse, barely sparing a glance to see Zombie Kallan, Shyola, and Brundisio leading the laden wagon away. “Kaylin?
”

  He fired away in the corner, then turned back—to see a wave of ice washing over the flames he had set, already dying away. “Damn it!”

  “Got him!” Kaylin shouted from above. “Just winged him, but—”

  Snarling forms burst through the window—a pair of goblins. They whirled toward Vexx just as he backed away, firing a fireball that exploded in between them and slammed them against the wall. Then he kept firing, fireballs exploding left and right, shooting almost at random in every direction.

  Just you try and extinguish that, asshole, he thought triumphantly, backing away and resting against the ladder, trying to get his stamina back. He breathed in deeply, then choked on the spreading smoke. “Kaylin! Get down from there!”

  Vexx waited a moment, then clambered up halfway, looking over. Kaylin wasn’t by the window any longer. The only thing left of her was a couple arrows and a small pool of blood.

  47

  Through the Flames

  “Vexx, get out of there!” Shyola shouted from the distance, and Vexx shook his head to clear it, coughing from the smoke. There was no time. Vexx slid down the ladder and landed hard on the ground. He saw blurred shapes around him and heard the savage snarling as goblins tussled with Lowrie Boys in the burning warehouse, but they were none of his concern. He lurched forward, eyes focused on the hangar bay doors, staggering forward and then breaking into a run as he passed through a half-dozen struggling figures. Two others blocked his path, Lowie Boys by the look of them, and he shot a fireball forward to knock one down and send the other reeling away. Vexx leaped over the fallen Lowrie Boy, and then he was out into the cool mountain air, turning to see the fully laden wagon waiting beside the burning lumber mill.

  Shyola, Zombie Kallan, and Brundisio stood around it in a loose cordon, fending off attacking goblins and Lowrie Boys. As Vexx approached, Brundisio leaped forward with a wild slash of his double-headed axe, ramming two goblins full in the chest. He rested it on his shoulder, waving Vexx over.

  “Let’s go!”

  “But Kaylin,” Vexx panted, glancing around. Then, he heard a thud on the wagon up above, and looked up to see that Kaylin had landed on the lumber pile.

  “I ran across the roof,” she said in a rush, nocking an arrow and quickly loosing it at a charging goblin brandishing a heavy flail.

  “Get the horse moving,” Vexx shouted up at her, just as the horse gave a panicked whinny, and Kaylin rushed over to settle into the wagon driver’s seat. She slapped the reins and the wagon began rolling forward. A spear sliced through the air and Vexx dodged aside just in time. He suppressed a sigh of relief at the close call.

  A group of goblins surged out of the burning warehouse and Vexx blasted them away with strong bursts of flames, and as one stumbled forward, Brundisio tossed his throwing axe to catch it in the head. He leaned down next to it, yanked it out of the goblin’s skull, and ran to catch up to the wagon. Vexx followed close behind, flanking the wagon as it rattled along the dirt road. Is it going to be like this all the way to Cloudbury?

  Vexx glanced left and right, seeing goblins hounding them from the sides, but at least no sign of the Lowrie Boys. I guess they must have died or ran off, Vexx thought, though that was little relief. He turned to look at Brundisio as they jogged along.

  “Think the Lowrie Boys have had it?”

  He shook his head quickly. “They’re a big gang, and I know they have hideouts in the area. Reinforcements will be around soon.”

  “So much for a milk run,” Vexx snapped, now keeping pace alongside the wagon. Zombie Kallan was out ahead of them, clearing the way with his broadsword, the goblins keeping their distance. Then one lunged forward and plunged its scimitar into Kallan’s back, and as he turned back, two others seized the opportunity to leap forward. Their spears and swords impaled him clean through, but still, the undead fighter struggled, grabbing one of them by the arm. The goblin shrieked as the others dashed away, looking up in horror as the wagon rolled on, crushing both him and Zombie Kallan beneath it.

  Brundisio slowed, and instinctively, Vexx slowed with him, keeping his attention on the sides. “Let’s go!” Vexx snapped, reaching for a magical potion and popping the cork open, never once taking his eyes off the shifting movement in the forest beside the road.

  “Just getting my axe back,” he grunted, waiting until the wagon rolled by. Then he knelt by the corpse of Kallan and pulled his throwing axe from the back of the fighter’s head. “Nice knowing you, buddy,” he muttered, rushing back up to Vexx. Shyola’s whip cracked on the other side of the wagon, but Vexx wasn’t too worried about her, especially since she kept laughing and cackling.

  She only gets quiet when she’s in trouble. Besides, she’d call for help if she needs it.

  “Can we go any faster, Kaylin?” Vexx asked, returning to the front of the overloaded wagon.

  “The horse is going as fast as it can,” she said, spurring the poor beast on once more. “Did you stuff half the forest in here?”

  “It’ll be worth it at the end,” Brundisio panted, keeping pace beside Vexx.

  “Did you tell Kallan that too?” Vexx muttered.

  “Ah, who cares about Kallan? All that matters—”

  A frost bolt soared out of the darkness beside the road, freezing a wagon wheel in an instant, rocking the wagon back and forth as it slowed and came to a stop. The horse whinnied as it slid to the side—then rocked back into place, immobile.

  “Which one of you idiots thought to mess with the Lowrie Gang?” a voice called out, and then Vexx saw the gleaming robes of the mage appear from the side, followed by a half-dozen fighters in leather armor.

  “The name’s Vexx White, and I’ll have your head, you icy bitch,” Vexx replied, flames sizzling from his fingertips, suddenly grateful he’d drank the last of his magic potion.

  “Oh, a fire mage,” the man replied, scowling in the distance. He must have been in his thirties, with a jagged scar along one cheek and closely cropped brown hair. Up close, Vexx saw blood splotch and tear in his robe where Kaylin’s arrow must have taken him. “How original,” he sneered. “I’m Barnabus Lowrie, and my big brother will be along shortly. Though I don’t plan on leaving any of you alive until then.”

  Brundisio cursed beside Vexx. “That’s not good,” he said in a low voice. “Maybe we can—”

  Barnabus whipped his staff forward, firing a frost bolt just as Vexx dove into the dirt road, rolling and quickly coming to his feet. Vexx fired fireball after fireball at the man, one wild shot catching an archer beside him and another fizzling away into nothingness even as it hit him directly. Vexx paused, frowning in puzzlement, but Barnabus just laughed and patted his clothing.

  “My anti-magic robe,” he explained. “Nothing a pauper like you could afford in a thousand years, but when you head the Lowrie Boys…” he shrugged, then pointed his staff forward. “After them!”

  The Lowrie Boys charged forward, one of them catching Kaylin’s arrow on an oaken shield, as Vexx shot firebolt after firebolt. Shyola leaped forward, slashing her whip into a charging man’s leg, and severing it entirely. The man stumbled screaming to the ground, and she dove in, draining his soul as he struggled against her. Three of them locked shields together, hemming in Vexx as he backed away, blocking his fireballs. One the shields was knocked askew, and a thrown axe hurtled into the gap, catching one in the neck.

  The man’s eyes widened as he stumbled to the ground, and then Brundisio charged forward, smashing a second man’s shield into kindling with a heavy strike of his double-headed axe. Vexx followed it up with a fireball, then blasted away the other gang member, who lowered his shield in a panic.

  Barnabus cursed from behind, his attention split between firing frost bolts at Brundisio and dodging arrows from Kaylin. “If you want a thing done right,” he hissed, whirling his staff over to Vexx. “You have to do it yourself!”

  A blast of frost streaked towards him, but Vexx fired a burst of flames, burning it away into nothin
gness. “I’ve always felt the same way,” he snarled back, rushing forward. He blocked frost bolt after frost bolt, rushing closer as the sounds of the shifting melee echoed around him. Vexx lunged forward, his right hand extended—directly at the rip Kaylin’s arrow had torn into the robe.

  Vexx fired a burst of flames directly into the ripped part of the robe, the magic fading away as it hit the robe, but sizzling as it burned Barnabus’s exposed shoulder. His face twisted in pain as he howled, staggering back. Vexx leaped forward, his left hand extended toward Barnabus’s face and fired a powerful bout of flames. The mage crumpled to the ground, dead, and the spirits of the Lowrie Boys nearby died along with him.

  Almost at the same instant, the half-dozen surviving guards turned tail and fled, sprinting down the road to Cloudbury. Brundisio hollered in delight as they earned themselves a moment of respite, and Vexx felt him clap him heartily on the shoulder.

  “I’ve never seen fighting like that! I can’t believe you killed one of the Lowrie brothers! You shouted your name, too!” The orc berserker chuckled. “You’re quite the dungeoneer, Vexx, I’m glad we hired you. I think his brother will be after you though.”

  Vexx wiped his forehead. “Oh. Great.”

  “Hey, Vexx?” Kaylin asked, an arrow nocked to her bow, intently studying the nearby forest. “There’s still plenty of goblins around, but they’re keeping their distance. We really need to get going.”

  “Oh, right,” he muttered, kneeling over beside the frozen wheel, already thawing and dripping into the dirt road. He summoned a brief burst of flames, melting away the ice that coated the wagon wheel. “It’s free,” he said. “Wait a minute, though. Let’s loot the bodies.”

  “Good thinking, Vexx,” Kaylin said as she hopped down. “There might be some good mage stuff on that weirdo!”

  “Let’s hope so.”