by Atlas Kane
Cade yelped as one sizzled into the meat of his thigh. Bouncing on his toes, he dodged a few more, and strode toward the nearest of the machines.
“Cut them down!” Cade barked, nudging his fighters into action. Ronden especially seemed unsure of what to do against such diminutive enemies. When Cade launched an explosive round into a red spheroid, blasting its metal carapace open and exposing a mess of smoking wires, he finally hefted his hammer and started to lay into their foes.
The blue bots revealed their weaponry when they got within a dozen paces. In a synchronized chink sound, twin blades burst from either side of the machines, and slowly, began to rotate. After just a few seconds, they’d gone from sluggish to full-on blenders capable of cutting down trees. One shifted its course and veered toward Cade.
He jumped over it and swung down at the machine with his hammer attachment. His weapon impacted solidly, and threw his enemy into a tight wobble.
Its disturbed path took it spinning into a green sphere beside it.
Then they all learned what the green ones were about.
It exploded, and a cloud of green gas filled the air around it. Some wafted toward Cade, and when it touched his skin, he felt it boil and begin to peel away. “Stay clear of the gas!” he bellowed, fighting the urge to grip the back of his arm. It would most likely only pull off a portion of his skin, something he’d prefer not to undergo.
A few explosions sounded behind Cade’s group, and he had to fight the urge to check on Havasham’s progress. Instead, he looked to his own.
Polde and Sholl were fighting side by side, keeping the red and blue bots at bay. Sholl’s spear darted out cleverly, keeping the distance they needed, and Polde would dart in and destroy one of their foes at a time, taking no more than a second to do so.
Ronden and Dan stood a dozen feet apart, laying waste. Already, a pile of the machines were piled up before both of them, but the problem was, more were still coming, and a clump of the greens were headed their way.
“Ronden, Dan! Can either of you give us some space? We need to thin them out and fall back!” Cade bellowed in his best battlefield command voice.
Ronden lifted his war hammer high, and it shone with cobalt energy. When he dropped it back to the ground, striking directly before his feet, a shock wave erupted outward in a c-shaped blast. Almost twenty of the machines shuddered to a stop, crystals of ice forming around their edges. Another twenty or more sped around these, and came on as fast as before.
What Dan did in response came as a most pleasant surprise.
Previously, he’d been using his soul weapons that attached to the backs of his hands. When activated, they turned into long blades that extended a foot from each finger.
In sweeping attacks, he was proving to be a devastating ally.
But when he pressed his palms together, and began to form a ball of crackling lightning between them, Cade knew the lycan had some serious game.
A second later and the ball lightning released, flowing into the oncoming tide of mechanical spheroids. Their metallic surfaces lit up with lightning that arced from one to the next. Half the room fell still as their foes were stopped dead in their tracks.
Taking a brief moment to inspect the deadly can openers, Cade discovered what the red ones were called first.
Terror Bots
Level 6
Dungeon Mechanical Minion
Terror Bots sounded right. The way their endless bullets had fried a half dozen holes in his hide and armor justified such a title. The blue ones were titled Savage Bots and the greens Acrid Bots.
All were Level 6, but the green ones still terrified him. If the group were to be caught in the middle of a few of those clouds, they could all die in seconds. Dan and Ronden had finally retreated to stand alongside Cade and the others, and he removed a Boom Stick.
Making sure Havasham’s group was well out of the way, Cade chucked the explosive, aiming it for the center of a cluster of frozen Acrid Bots.
The resounding blast left him reeling, his ears ringing so loud he had trouble hearing Havasham cursing the day he was born. But the effect had been worthwhile. A tiny crater lay in the middle of the floor, and all around, a thick cloud of green gas. The other bots inside quickly melted away, killing all of those that had been frozen in Ronden’s stunning skill.
Havasham, a surprisingly astute tactician, kited the few dozen bots that plagued him and his men into the gas.
One by one, the rest fell.
The room went still and silent.
Cade’s ears still rung, and he summoned a Healing Tincture from his Inventory and downed it. At once, the burning on his arm subsided slightly. All around, his companions did the same, their minor wounds recovering.
A loud click made them all flinch and fall into defensive stances. But all that followed was the sound of a fan activating, the remaining green gas siphoning up and out of the room through vents. “Round One down, guys. I don’t think we can fit down any of those passages, and worse, I doubt this room is done with us. Everyone okay?”
Each warrior present grunted or hollered their response.
Soldiers, one and all. They were made for this. Not everyone can dunk their head in a bucket of fucked up like that and come out on the straight and narrow, Cade thought, admiring those around him.
The sound of every passageway snicking shut and the grinding of a huge portal in the far wall opening, announced the beginning of Round Two.
Ronden helped them all out by screaming. It was a terrific scream, as battle-chants go, loud, wordless, and full of spittle. Mysterious setting, check. Badass allies and plenty of foes, check. Rage boner, thank you, Ronden, check.
Another whirring filled the air, louder and a higher pitch than before. Cade held his axe to his shoulder, ready to fire a round into anything that came in sight. Explosive Shot had been helpful so far, but as a cloud of flying bots swarmed out of the doorway, he knew he’d have a tough time even hitting one.
Inspecting the purple newcomers before he no longer had a chance, he was surprised to see that although these were smaller their level had increased.
Buzz Bot
Level 7
Dungeon Mechanical Minion
He was aiming, trying to get a shot off in the rare times when the bots converged in a cluster, when a deep rumbling gave him pause.
Two bulky mechanicals rolled into the room on spherical wheels. Each was as big as Ronden, but obviously much heavier. Their bodies, no surprise, were bulbous spheres as were their heads. No arms could be seen.
Cade dodged a flight of buzz bots, dropping the same red laser as their red bot cousins but also wielding tiny swords, hence the purple. But the others were already thinning their numbers effectively, so he decided to try something out on the heavy hitters.
Utilizing Armor Piercing, Cade aimed for the chest of the foremost mega bot. He fired, and his bullet slammed into the machine, piercing its exoskeleton easily.
The bullet flew out its back and burrowed into the wall behind.
Rather than show a sign he’d damaged the machine, its middle opened up, the top half rising up a few inches. The bot’s four sphere legs rolled out from under it, making the bulk of its body crash to the ground. Then as a port within its torso opened, revealing a sizable barrel, the wheels telescoped into long legs.
Lifting off the ground, the—Mega Bot, really? I mean, I literally guessed that—scanned the room in an instant.
Then the barrel within its torso began to glow red.
The second mega bot posted up beside it, opening to deploy its gun as well. Both had a golden patina, so he figured they would utilize the same tactics.
This seemed hopeful until the first shot was fired. Streaking through the air and destroying three of its buzz bot allies, the first mega bot blasted Ronden with a direct hit.
The big man was struck in his chest, and although the crimson laser didn’t pierce his body, it crackled across his skin and caused him to fall to the grou
nd. He only barely managed to catch himself on hands and knees, but Cade could see the hulk’s arms shaking with the effort to remain upright.
Holy hentai! New tactic: take out the fucking mega bots!
“Take out the fucking mega bots!” he echoed himself, then sprinted forward, slashing out at a rogue buzz bot and cutting it down.
The next laser fired, this one knocking down one of Havasham’s men. The discharged weapon moved so quickly, Cade doubted any one of them could evade it.
The first bot fired once more, this time aiming at Polde. His assumption was proven wrong as she deftly performed a roll, just avoiding being struck.
It would have been convenient had the bot continued to focus on their one party member who could dodge its attack. But its head spun to the side, finding a new target with whatever hidden eyes it possessed, and fired once more. This time, it was Sholl who collapsed to the ground.
Ronden had gotten to his knees, but already, his body was covered with an array of lesser wounds, the buzz bots cutting and blasting into him freely.
So that is their tactic. Stun us, one by one, and then whittle us down with the cloud of little shits. Have to stop the mega bots. Have to do so now.
Cade screamed out an Alpha’s Call, buffing everyone within reach, then he used Earthen Assault, approaching the first of the mega bots.
He felt the dense reinforcement of his axe take hold, and heard a few gasps of surprise. The buff was effective, and would increase everyone’s output by an additional 20% blunt damage. He only hoped it might help bring down the big guys.
Havasham cried out an order, yelling at Vrin to join Cade in his assault. Then he yelped and Cade saw him fall as well, overcome by the stunning laser.
Cade reached the first of his opponents and swung a heavy overhead strike. The hammer side of his axe plummeted down, crashing through the external shell of the mega bot. A crack tore through its surface. In a moment, the top half of its domed upper body fell away.
It had only been a shell, and beneath, a myriad of moving parts was exposed.
Spotting the threat, Cade watched as the barrel spun and sighted in on him. He jumped and landed on the mega bot’s clockwork guts, avoiding the shot by a fraction of a second.
He figured he might as well remain where he was and smash the thing with a few more strokes of his hammer until the machine’s arms made an appearance at last.
Three appendages shot out toward him. One glanced off his breastplate, but the other two found their marks. Skewering him like chopsticks, the telescoping limbs stabbed through his thigh and bicep.
Cade grunted, and pulled away. The appendages retracted and shot out once more. Its aim was uncanny, and though the wounds were small, only a quarter inch in diameter, they were effective.
Another pierced the skin on the side of his neck. The second and third shot out at Polde, who grunted as one found a vulnerable patch in her greaves.
“Figured you could use some help,” she said, a wry smile on her avian face.
“Thanks!” Cade shouted, and focused on his enemy once more.
Possibilities spun in his mind.
If he gave the thing more room, its laser cannon would have him down in no time. Then he’d be useless. Ronden was looking like a piece of hamburger by now, his skin covered in hundreds of tiny wounds. If they all ended up like that, this would be a sad day for Camp Casmeer.
He thought of trying Spider’s Kiss or Culling the Pack, but those skills seemed more effective against biological enemies. He doubted he could paralyze a machine with venom.
And there was Electrifying Touch. This was the most promising ability, but it had a long cooldown, and he didn’t want to ruin their chances of taking down whatever might follow.
Then he saw it. A marble-sized ball in the upper network of its machinery. Wires converged from all sides, feeding into a cube-shaped base. Atop of it, swiveling around rapidly, was the mega bot’s little brain.
Processor or computer might be more appropriate terms, but Cade could care less. Without ceremony, he lifted his right arm and pointed his ring at the component.
The mega bot’s arms erupted once more, and he grunted as one pierced his abdomen.
Thankfully, he hadn’t fired yet. He gripped the spike running through his middle and steadied himself. Then he fired the ring’s base attack.
A glob of acidic ether sprang from his hand and struck the little sphere, coating it in viscous fluid.
For a moment, nothing happened, only the pain of the machine’s limb retracting from his guts, the sound of his own grunting in response, and the whir of dozens of remaining buzz bots.
Then the mega bot fell to the ground. Whatever powered its legs quit, and it collapsed, sending him and Polde rolling away.
Cade stood up, holding the wound in his gut. A few buzz bots flew overhead, strafing him with their tiny lasers. The added pain was minimal compared to his stomach wound.
He wanted to fight. To stand up and help finish this mess, but blood poured from his abdomen, and he realized his abdominal aorta must have been nicked. Had it been completely severed, he most likely would have passed out already, seconds away from death.
Either way, he was out of the fight.
But it seemed it didn’t matter. Even through his haze, he heard Havasham barking orders. The exoskeleton of the second mega bot was shattered and Vrin’s body began emitting an eerie glow. With a well-aimed spear thrust, the weapon’s tip melting through the tiny sphere in charge of moving the mega bot, the second mega bot was brought down.
Instantly, the remaining few dozen buzz bots went silent. Whatever mechanism drove their flight gave out and they plummeted to the ground.
All around him, the metallic thunks of a score of defeated bots announced the end of the fight.
Cade held his stomach, trying to stem the bleeding as well as he could. His worst fear was watching the room produce some boss mob, but instead, a robotic voice announced, “Congratulations. You have completed round one!”
Then the large passageway ahead closed and two more opened to either side. Two ways to leave this hellish arena, but their party seemed in no hurry to move on.
“We need—” Cade tried, but then one of Havasham’s men put a hand on his shoulder.
“You need to be quiet. Lie back. Polde, help me,” the man said quietly but with the indisputable authority of a medic.
Cade complied, feeling the wound in his belly pour out more of his life blood in response to the movement.
“Scorching Poultice?” Cade suggested in a whisper.
The man shook his head and placed his hands over Cade’s belly.
Heat, like a gust from a cooking oven washed through his body. Condensing in his wound, the heat burned brighter and brighter. Yet somehow it felt good. Cade groaned as it scorched away the pain of his wound, and in moments, he could breathe more easily.
“Thank you…” Cade tried to think of the healer’s name, but couldn’t recall it.
“Fenian. Name’s Fenian. Now drink some water and get something to eat. Polde and I will start patching up the others. We were mostly unharmed.”
Cade nodded and watched the man go. He was a big man, nearly as broad as Ronden, but more hunched over, as if self-conscious of his size. He’d been quiet the whole time, and now, without thanks or formal request, he’d healed Cade.
Fenian is now getting a thank you card, he thought. Better yet, maybe I can commission a pair of armor or a specialized weapon.
Wanting to regain his strength as quickly as possible, Cade sat up and drank deeply from a water skin. When he was done, he summoned a pile of fruit from his Inventory. He needed to replenish his blood, and though his Lycan Metabolism would help out quickly, fuel was needed.
After eating a few pounds of fruit, he found himself capable of standing. He walked first to Ronden, who’d received the same healing from Fenian. Cade handed the big man a Healing Tincture, then a pile of plantains.
“Eat, broth
er. You look like shit,” Cade said, encouraging a laugh from the giant.
Hearing Ronden’s ever-infectious mirth broke the tension in the room. A few other chuckles could be heard from all around. Cade sighed, feeling the weight of their encounter slip away at last. Then he hobbled from warrior to warrior, handing out tincture and fruit.
After another half hour, they ate jerky as well, knowing the more substantial food would help them fully recover.
There were no time limits on how long they could spend before moving on to the next room, and Cade wanted the two groups as strong as possible before they did so.
Having received healing first, Cade felt the most capable of completing the other task on their list before moving on. He had to loot over a hundred hunks of metal.
Cade walked over to a mega bot first and placed his hand on its exterior. Though it still smoked, and was completely inert, he winced as he did so anyhow. But it didn’t whir to life, didn’t aim another laser cannon his way.
He looted it and grinned as he inspected the list of items available to scavenge.
10 Scrap Metal Alloy
10 Metal Alloy Sheeting
2 Quarts Hydro Fluid
5 Multi Use Cogs
15 Universal Screws
1 Large Bore Cannon Barrel
He gawked at the list, ecstatic, mystified, and eager to speak with Satemi.
“Havasham!” he called out, and the councilman walked over.
“What is it, Cade? The loot?”
Rather than answer, he summoned the items back from his Inventory and arrayed them on the ground.
The man was, in many ways, still his enemy. Havasham’s alliance with Cha was no secret in town, and yet, they’d just fought side by side, and Cade felt a strong desire to share in his enthusiasm.
He watched as Havasham’s eyes widened. The two smiled at each other, letting the bullshit drop, at least for now. “This could mean…” he began. “It could mean many things, I suppose, but I will be pleased to speak with Latsi as soon as we return. She may know what to do with these.”