World At War

by Dave Willmarth

  Two more dragons went down, the weight of at least one gargoyle slamming into them. Blood flew as more of the creatures ripped into them while they were down.

  Fitz struck the butt end of his staff on the stone and a bubble of force rippled outward from him in all directions. As it passed through the gargoyles, it negated their stealth ability. The twenty-plus remaining monsters were now visible, and taken by surprise. The dragons and a few of the players took shots at each of them to prevent them from recovering their stealth. Lainey shot Shock Arrows into several of the ones atop the dragons in rapid succession, causing them to seize up and drop to the stone floor.

  Alexander held out his enchanted ring and called out, “Stone Golem!” The golem that arose this time was a true monster. Fifteen feet tall with hands the size of wagon wheels, it turned and bowed its head to him, awaiting instructions.

  “Kill the gargoyles!” He pointed at the ones on the ground who were just recovering from Lainey’s stuns. Without hesitation, the golem turned and moved past the dragons, who made room. It reached the grounded gargoyles as they began to leap back into the air. Grabbing two by their legs, it began to thrash them around. First, the golem slammed them back to the ground, then into each other. Wings and long bones cracked with each impact. The golem advanced, slamming first one and then the other into a nearby wall. That finished both of them.

  Hurling the corpses into the air one at a time, it knocked another down, its wing broken from the impact. The golem stomped on its chest, killing it instantly. This one too, it hurled into the air, but the other gargoyles had gotten wise and dodged away.

  Del shouted, “Knock them down, let the golem finish them!”

  The six dragons began to operate in pairs. One would call out a target and both would hit it with magic. They focused on crippling the wings, which were the biggest targets anyway. As each of the monsters fell to the ground or dropped within its reach, the golem finished them. Limbs were torn from the bodies. Wings were pulled off and used to swat others hovering in range.

  More than two dozen of the creatures perished before the rest lost heart and fled through the outer gate. The dragon scout, the one who’d been so badly injured by the gargoyles at the keep, began to give chase. But Del called her back. “We can find them later. When we have finished off the wizard.”

  She nodded and turned back to the battle still raging inside the structure. Sasha cast her biggest heals on the dragons, all of whom had taken some damage during the fight. But even those only returned a small fraction of the dragons’ health. Del smiled at her. “We appreciate the thought, but we are capable of healing ourselves. Preserve your mana for your fellow citizens.”

  As if to prove his point, he cast a heal on himself that raised his health bar from about eighty percent to a hundred percent. Sasha’s eyes widened. “That had to have been… thirty thousand HP? At least! You have got to teach me that!”

  The leader of the dragon wing smiled at her. “When you are ready, child. When you are ready.”

  The rest of the raid party had pushed further into the interior of the building. Past the doorway, the room opened up to a considerable size. The far wall was maybe thirty yards distant and the walls to either side were lined with columns, behind which enemies were hiding, popping out to prosecute ranged attacks here and there.

  A force of at least a hundred dark orcs and hobgoblins were pressing at the tanks, who were having to spread out as they advanced further into the room. Sasha saw this and moved to correct it.

  “Tanks! Hold. Six steps back toward the doors. Let’s use the walls while we can. I don’t want them to be able to surround us!”

  The line of tanks obediently began to step backwards, still bashing and slashing at the enemy as they closed ranks in a smaller half-circle. Shields locked together as they came to a stop. Lugs was in the center, his massive tower shield anchoring the wall. The others spread out on either side in a line that curved back toward the walls on either side of the door.

  “Ranged! Focus on the assholes who keep popping out from behind the columns. Melee, keep doing what you’re doing. Grind them down!”

  The tanks were all taking damage, but the healers were keeping up. A quick survey showed Alexander that they were all still above sixty percent mana. He knew Sasha had packed plenty of mana potions, so he wasn’t worried.

  Helga went down as a dark spell enveloped her. Alexander moved in her direction but Benny beat him to it. The light of a holy spell fell from the ceiling and dispersed the darkness. It also healed Helga, who was squirming in pain on the ground. The dark cloud had been made of acid, and it had eaten at her exposed flesh. Two orc citizens who had been too close to her suffered as well.

  The healers went to work, cleansing the poison, then healing the damage. In less than a minute, all three were back in the fight. Though their armor and weapons were pitted from the acid. All except Helga’s Legendary sword, which seemed unaffected as she stabbed over top of the tanks’ shields into a particularly large hobgoblin’s face. With a primal scream, she levered her long arms and lifted the blade. It temporarily lifted her victim as well before its skull gave way and a spray of blood and brain covered everyone nearby.

  She shouted, “Lugs! Make some room!” and triggered some barbarian berserker rage ability Alexander hadn’t seen before.

  Lugs looked behind him and his eyes got wide. “Oh, shit!” he shouted. “Shield Bash! Now!”

  Brick and Grumpy, on either side of Lugs, triggered their abilities at the same time he did. Lugs alone was over a thousand pounds of ogre flesh, armor, and shield smashing into the enemy line. Every foe in an eight-foot swathe in front of the tanks went ass over teakettle, knocked backward several feet. Immediately, Lugs stepped back and turned sideways, pulling his shield close to his body and dropping to one knee. Then he tilted the shield like a ramp.

  Helga took two steps. The first foot landed on stone, the second on Lugs’ shield. She propelled herself up and over the ogre, screaming in rage as her sword swung in a wide arc in front of her.

  The orcs and hobgoblins in front saw a giant woman with blood-red eyes covered in blood and brains flying toward them. Her sword glinted in the red ambient light as it carved off pieces of their comrades. She was unstoppable. Landing amidst the still-recovering enemy, she slashed and stabbed in a frenzy. Completely disregarding any kind of defense, she took multiple wounds herself as she used her incredible strength to power her blade through body after body.

  In ten seconds, not a single living creature remained in a six-foot wide radius in front of her. The terrified enemy fighters still standing closest to her had pushed back against those behind them, getting clear of her blade’s reach or dying in the attempt. She snarled at them, breathing heavily as her own blood dripped from multiple wounds. Three separate heals struck her at the same time and the wounds began to close.

  “Cowards!! I am but one barbarian! There are scores of you! Come taste my blade!” She jumped over the pile of bodies in front of her, taking out three hobgoblins as she landed. Again, the enemy retreated from the blood-soaked madwoman. She spat blood onto the floor in front of them. “Bah!” As her ability’s time wore off, she came to her senses. Lugs beckoned to her and she turned and strode purposefully back through the line of tanks.

  Not one enemy tried to take advantage when she turned her back.

  Using the space that Helga had created, Sasha cast her Thorn Trap on the center of the enemy force. Dozens of the dark soldiers were caught in the thorns as Alexander lit them up with Wizard’s Fire. The smell of roasted meat accompanied the screams of the trapped fighters. Others moved around them and charged into the line of tanks again.

  Brick smiled. “Let’s use the fire!” He counted loudly to three and the tanks all shoved forward two steps. The mass of enemies was pushed back and the ones at the back got knocked into the burning thorns, catching fire themselves.

  The tanks all stepped back to their previous positions and waited f
or more monsters to fill in the gap. They hacked with sword and axe, smashed with shield and hammer for a full minute, then Brick began to count again.

  “Huah!” the tanks shouted as Brick hit three and they all shoved. Again, the strength of the tanks pushing in unison moved the monsters back and caused more of them to catch fire.

  Sasha didn’t re-cast the Thorn Trap, as her mana was getting low and she needed to focus on heals. The Wizard’s Fire burned down the thorns and the monsters trapped in them before Brick and the tanks could take advantage for a third time.

  Grumpy screamed and fell backward, a shit-weasel spell having struck him in the face. The nose guard on his helmet had stopped the thing from burrowing directly into his face on impact. But now it was trying to crawl down his throat.

  The dwarf abruptly stopped screaming and clamped his jaw shut on the thing. He bit down hard, blood erupting from his mouth as the front end of the worm dug at his flesh. Grumpy began to choke on chunks of his own gums and tongue.

  Heals erupted over his head as he growled with pain and effort. He squeezed his jaw shut with all his might, trying to bite the evil thing in half. But its skin was tough, and the worm was made of mostly muscle and teeth.

  Just as he was tiring and about to lose his battle, Lugs grabbed hold of the section that still stuck out beyond Grumpy’s teeth. When he had a firm hold, he shouted, “Let go!” and pulled.

  Grumpy unclenched his jaw as Lugs yanked the nasty thing out. His hand bled from the spikes along its spine, but he held on. Grumpy’s tongue erupted from his mouth as the worm came free. Lugs nearly puked at the sight but managed to slam the thing to the ground, stunning it. A stomp from his massive ogre foot ended the threat.

  The momentary distraction of the two tanks opened a hole and a squad of orcs charged through. They formed a sort of wedge, pushing Brick and another tank farther aside as they came at Grumpy and Lugs from behind. Grumpy took a wickedly-barbed spear to the back, its point erupting from the joint between his breastplate and spaulder. The orc on the other end of the spear yanked it back and the barb caught on the edge of the dwarf’s breastplate, preventing it from doing even more extensive damage on its way out.

  Grumpy calmly put his axe away and took hold of the spear tip in his gauntleted hand. When he had a firm grip, he spun his body, his shield smashing into the orc as the spear’s shaft was ripped from its hands. Grumpy roared in pain but managed to pull the spear tip forward several inches. Then he snapped the shaft against the edge of his breastplate.

  One of the Elysian orcs behind the tank observed all of this, and with a nod of respect he took hold of the shaft and quickly withdrew it from Grumpy’s back. The dwarf nearly lost consciousness from the pain.

  Heals rained down on him as he used his shield to prop himself up. He was dizzy from blood loss. Heals could close wounds and stop bleeding, but they could not replenish lost blood. The only ways to do that were to sit and wait for time to take care of it, or eat and drink. Grumpy pulled a health potion from his bag and chugged it down as he walked toward the rear of their party. Then he removed some of Sasha’s roasted boar meat. It would replenish him as well as give him regen buffs. Five minutes or so, and he’d be back in the fight.

  Lugs and the other tanks closed ranks, taking a step backward to shorten the line they had to cover. They were all taking damage, the sheer number of the enemy troops hacking and stabbing at them taking its toll. The healers behind them were already gulping their first round of mana potions as the ranged damage dealers poured it on.

  Del approached Alexander at his position among the casters, busily casting Wizard’s Fire at locations where the enemy was thickest, other than right in front of the tanks. The flames quickly spread from one victim to the next. The fire alone wouldn’t kill any of them. But it would weaken them.

  “We have dealt with the gargoyles,” Del reported. “Let us seal the doors behind us and take the lead. We can clear this room of the wizard’s servants in just moments.”

  Alexander said, “Yes, please seal the door. But I don’t want you out front. A lucky hit might kill one of you. And since this is just the front door, I have a feeling we’re going to need every dragon we have later on.”

  Beatrix must have found a source of water somewhere, because a series of waves rose up and engulfed the monsters in the room. Immediately, Misty began to freeze the now-soaked enemy fighters. The layers of ice that formed on the monsters didn’t hold them still. But it did slow their movements enough that the players on the front lines were able to work their way forward across about a fourth of the room. They killed everything in sight, the enemy fighters too slow to defend themselves, then retreated back to the door and reformed their arc of a shield wall.

  The room was hushed, the din of battle dying down as the defenders saw a quarter of their number slaughtered in moments. As they hesitated to rush forward into the meat grinder, a group of drow mages appeared at the opposite end of the room. Alexander Inspected the closest of them.

  Drow Wizard’s Acolyte

  Level 90

  Health: 50,000/50,000

  There were seven of them in total. The monsters at the back of the room gave them space as they moved forward. As they reached spellcasting range, they spread out in a line. Each of them made an identical series of hand gestures. Alexander could see their mouths moving, but couldn’t hear the words.

  Apparently, the dragons could. Several of them growled out spells of their own, trying to beat the drow to the completion of their spells.

  They weren’t fast enough.

  The drow finished their spell in unison, thrusting their hands out toward the invading raid party. A nasty black cloud descended upon the entire line of tanks. It smelled of infection and decay. In seconds, the tanks were screaming, then coughing. With each cough, they inhaled more of the cloud’s substance.

  Sasha was screaming at the healers to target the tanks via their UIs since they couldn’t see the darkness. Heals began to land on the tanks, but not fast enough. Their health bars were steadily dropping.

  The dragons finished their spells and a blue mist rose up around the group of mages, as well as a large number of the monsters surrounding them. A moment later, the mist turned to a blue flame. The same flame that heated the dragon forges.

  The drow didn’t even have time to scream as their bodies were consumed and rendered down to ash. A score or more of the orcs who’d been protecting them disappeared into ash clouds as well.

  With the death of the acolytes, the dark cloud faded quickly. But the damage was done. The tanks all lay on the floor. Pools of vomit and blood surrounded them as they continued to cough out their insides.

  The healers began casting Cleanse on them as quickly as possible, followed by focused heals. A few of the tanks staggered to their feet, but the enemy force was now pressing across the corpse-covered gap in a wave of spears and swords.

  Fitz and Alexander began casting Wizard’s Fire on the corpses. A semicircle of fire rose up in front of the tanks as the flames spread from body to body. The enemy was halted, at least temporarily.

  Two of the player tanks had been sent to respawn. The healers had done their best, but the damage from the cloud was severe, and it had hit too many too fast. Another two citizen tanks had been killed as well. One orc, one minotaur. Sasha made the decision not to resurrect them. They had a long way to go, and among their group only Brick, Benny, and Martin could rez. They might need those three chances for a healer during a battle, or some other key member.

  The dead tanks left gaping holes in the line as the remainder of their comrades regained their feet and hefted their shields. Once again, they all took a few steps back toward the wall. Defending a smaller piece of floor, they could tighten up their lines and close the gaps.

  As the Wizard’s Fire consumed the corpses and began to run out of fuel, a battle-enraged orc attempted to jump through the flames. He was too early and his armor and skin were set ablaze as he passed through. S
creaming, he fell and rolled forward, lighting more corpses on fire in the process. His allies smartly held back after observing his fate. His screaming continued until Max used his Multi-Shot skill to blast him in the face with five arrows at once. The impact didn’t leave much of the orc’s head intact.

  Grumpy rejoined the line of remaining tanks, who were now all back on their feet. Several of them had leveled after the deaths of the acolytes, their bodies brought back to peak condition and full health. One of those being Lugs, who roared out a challenge to the forces facing him.

  A deep, resonating sound vibrated its way through the stronghold. A horn of some kind, blown deep in the depths. Immediately, every orc and hobgoblin in the room went silent. A moment later, they fled. Turning their backs on the raid party, they sprinted for the nearest exit. The last of them didn’t bother closing the doors behind them, just disappeared as the raid members listened to the sounds of their running steps fade into the darkness.

  “Ha!” Brick slapped Lugs’ belly. “Ye scared ‘em right outta the room with yer hollerin’!”

  There was muted laughter among the group at the dwarf’s quick-thinking quip. At the same time, most of the tanks just dropped where they stood, sitting on the floor and trying to catch their breath. A few of the melee fighters and healers did the same. Many pulled out food of one kind or another and began to eat.

  “Any chance they’ll just keep running and we won’t have to fight them later?” Max asked hopefully.

  Sasha shook her head. “They were told to retreat. Somebody down there will throw them back at us later. Probably when we’re most vulnerable. Use them to surround us or something.”

  “Well, thank ye fer that!” Brick laid down on the stone floor, one hand up in the air to wave at Sasha. “Ye couldn’t just let Lugs have his minute o’ glory? That were a damn scary growl he cut loose there.”