by R. A. Mejia
The deconstruction process was slow, and I had to regularly empty out the small cubes of rocks that were an unwanted byproduct. As I worked, I thought about the absolute waste of materials. That thought sparked an idea, and I paused my work to ask Devena about it, “You’re a dwarf, right?”
The question made her scowl at me, and she responded, “Well, I’m certainly not an elf.”
I scratched the back of my head, a little embarrassed at my stupid phrasing. “Sorry. I just meant that dwarves are known for their ability to craft and work with stone. I was wondering if you could use the stone here to make a wall or some other kind of protection for the fighters. It would give us an advantage and make use of the rocks our teams are discarding from mining.”
She considered the request and nodded. “It’s a fine idea. Though I’m not a master mason by any means, I can make some simple walls from the rubble around here.”
“Actually, I just need one wall, and then I can make copies of it.” Her raised eyebrows and quizzical expression told me she didn’t understand what I meant. I explained, “It’s another class ability I have.” Privately, I hoped that my recent investment in the Fabrication ability would let me make something as large as a wall.
She shrugged and got to work, picking flat stones of similar height and stacking them. She seemed to have an almost instinctual knowledge of which stones would work and which would not. Before more than an hour had passed, she had created a waist-high stone wall that was five feet long. It would be enough to provide solid protection against another attack from a pack of Shadow Wolves without restricting the defenders’ ability to swing their weapons.
“Well, that’s as good as I’m going to be able to make it without mortar or the tools to shape the stone to fit better together,” Devena said as she stood back from her work. I looked at the wall and saw a collection of well-fitted stones with only small gaps between rocks and layers. It was better than I could have hoped to make without spending four or five the time she did.
I was able to scan the defensive wall as a schematic.
Poor Dry-stone Wall
AC 5
Weight 100 lbs
Durability 20/20
The weight of the stone wall made me balk. One-hundred pounds of stone material would take me hours to fabricate. No, I’d have to think of another way to build a wall of sorts. I returned to deconstructing the ore that the miners had left around them and processed it. Yet, in my mind, I continued to work over the problem of creating defensive structures. I knew that a heavy stone wall was out of the question due to the hours it would take to fabricate, but what about something that was made from lighter material but filled in with stone blocks to give it weight and density? I imagined a rectangular box made from wood or metal but filled in with rubble. It would be easy to fabricate the box frame as it would weigh little, and the mining would produce enough byproduct rubble to fill in many such walls.
While I liked the idea, it was something that would have to be worked on outside the dungeon. For now, I decided to fall back to an earlier design: dig ditches using deconstruction and place the discarded material to make dirt walls behind them. It was a design I’d used when fighting the Squirrel King and his knights on the first floor of the dungeon. It was so much faster to deconstruct than fabricate that I was able to dig the six-foot-deep ditches and dirt walls in an hour. The three ditches were ten feet long with an equally high dirt wall behind them, and each structure was spaced about four feet apart. The idea was to bottleneck any attackers into small areas where our defenders could attack them in groups.
Poor Dirt Wall
AC 2
Weight 100 lbs
Durability 10/10
I was proud of the defensive structures. Even if they didn’t give quite the bonus to defense that the stone wall did, they would help shape any battles ahead. The three kill zones between walls were defended by two fighters each. The twins took the area to the left, the right was covered by Greebo and Manny, and Devena and I covered the middle zone with me behind the dwarven warrior providing ranged support.
I didn’t know if there was a certain time limit between when the dungeon would send more monsters, but only a half-hour after I finished the defenses, another wave of enemies appeared.
While the defenders waited for a threat to come from the forest and I continued to deconstruct the broken up rock ore for both teams, I heard a yelp and turned in time to see Frak tilting his head, trying to get something out of his ear and Frik, his twin brother, holding out an index finger toward his brother. I shouted out at the two, “What are you guys doing?”
“He stuck a wet finger in my ear!” Frak yelled. Frik did not respond to the accusation of the wet willy but pointed up at the sky and called out, “Incoming monsters from the sky!”
Everyone turned at the cry, and I called out my Flintlock Rifle, took aim, and fired. One flying form dropped from the sky a moment later, but the others continued on finally before getting close enough to get a good look at. They were blue birds with four-foot wingspans, and I recognized them as Lightning Condors. While not as large as the corrupted version we’d fought earlier, there were six of them. Our goblin fighters already knew what to expect, but I didn’t know if Devena did and I called out to her, “They’re Lightning Condors. Watch out for their Shock attacks!”
She acknowledged me with a nod then turned back to the oncoming enemy, her double-bladed axe gripped in her hands. As I switched out my Flintlock Rifles, I shook my head at my own foolishness. I’d built defenses that were perfect for funneling enemies on the ground but forgot that the dungeon had flying monsters on this floor as well. None of the goblin fighters had ranged weapons, but I knew they’d wreak havoc on any monster that came into their range.
I shot again at another Lightning Condor just as it was charging up its Shock spell. The attack only grazed the monster’s head, but it was enough to distract it from its spell and the crackling electricity dissipated. I glanced around as I reloaded and took note of how the other defenders were doing. Greebo and Manny were throwing rocks at the two condors that were attacking them, and Frik and Frak were jumping into the air trying to strike out at their enemies, but just as they jumped, the bird would rise higher in the sky, causing the tips of the goblins’ swords to come just shy of the monsters that flew above them.
Only one condor was foolish enough to try to swoop down at Manny, who bashed it with his hammer and knocked it to the ground where Greebo stabbed it to death.
The remaining four spread out over us and flew in circles, pausing to charge and shoot bolts of electricity that struck the goblin defenders.
The twins were the closest to being able to do actual damage, and after I finished reloading, I took careful aim at the Lightning Condor they were trying to hit and aimed just above the bird. Just as the goblin jumped, I pulled the trigger. The condor rose, just as I’d expected, and took the shot directly to the wing. The monster did not take much damage as the wing was mostly feather, but it did cause the bird to drop from the sky just enough to come within range of Frik and Frak’s swords, which skewered the bird with their next jump.
The remaining Lightning Condors abandoned their spread out attacks and flew directly at me. I didn’t have time to reload, but I flipped the rifle upside down and held it like a baseball bat by the barrel. The first monster that swooped down took a hit to the beak from the rifle stock, but the other two sent sparks flying and scored deep gouges as their talons racked across my faceplate and shoulders. The attack to my face made me pull back my rifle and try to protect my head, which allowed the condor I’d hit to hop from the ground and take flight once again.
The goblin miners and the Divas were crowded together on the hill, watching us fight and holding a defensive position as ordered. Manny and the other goblins were running to my position, but they wouldn’t reach me in time to help. I started to reload the rifle as all three Lightning Condors started charging their Spark spells, and I could see the
monsters above flap their wings as they held their position and crackling energy built up between their talons. I knew that how quickly I could reload the rifle would determine who got in the next shot, and I’d stuffed the paper cartridge down the barrel of the rifle and just added the priming powder to the pan when I heard the air around me crackle. I glanced up in time to see three balls of electric energy flying at me, and I knew that I hadn’t been quick enough. The first ball of electricity landed at my feet, harmlessly grounding out into the earth. But the next two hit their mark, and I felt a strong jolt of energy surge through my mechanical body. My vision blacked out for a moment, I felt an explosion in my hands, and then I was knocked backward.
There was a ringing in my audio processors and a line of text appeared in front of my black vision.
Visual processors reengaging. Audio processors reengaging.
My vision returned, and the ringing died down to a low whine before disappearing as well. I stared up at the sky and realized that I was on my back. A quick check of my health showed that I had less than 15% health, the lowest I’d been in a while.
My body creaked as I sat up, and I saw cracks in my iron plating, but I was still in one piece, though the same could not be said for the Flintlock Rifle I’d wielded or my hands. The rifle lay on the ground next to me, the barrel bulging in places, the stock blackened, and the firing mechanism blown out entirely. My hands were completely gone with nothing but ragged stumps of iron and wood left in their place. As I stared at my injuries, I was glad that I didn’t feel pain like I would have when I was human. As a result, I was able to quickly and calmly assess the situation around me. I was injured, but not crippled. I could still move, but was obviously out of the fight.
I was surprised that the monsters hadn’t taken my fall as a chance to finish off one of their enemies, but as I looked around, I discovered that I was surrounded by a ring of goblins, and not just the fighters: even the miners were poised, holding their picks. Greebo knelt next to me, with a worried look in his eyes, and held a bar of iron out for me to take.
“Hurry! Those blue-feathered freaks won’t be scared off for long. Manny and the Divas have their attention for the moment, but you need to get your health up before they send in more of those spells!”
I looked beyond the ring of goblins to see all of the Divas throwing every rock they could find. The red-headed dwarven miner Dannie was throwing rocks the size of a goblin’s head, and Manny was shouting at the birds, his face glowing red as he tried to catch one or more with his taunt ability. Greebo dropped the iron bar at my feet, and I focused on the internal Metalman OS.
“Command: Run diagnostic tool.”
Running diagnostic tool…
Diagnostic program complete: Damage to internal core structures, damage to wooden base structures, damage to external plating.
Insufficient materials available to complete. Damage will require 141 lbs. of material to repair. 61 lbs. of wood, 15 lbs. of stone, and 43 lbs. of copper metal or higher grade metal, and 22 lbs. of iron.
Estimated time for full repair: 5 hours 7 minutes
The level of damage that I’d sustained had not only fractured my armor plating and external structures but also my internal ones as well--and the iron would only help with the destruction of my armor plating. Even if I had all the materials I needed, I couldn’t wait for over five hours. I wished for a moment that I’d invested my skill points in improving my repair efficiency and not my deconstruction efficiency, then turned to my friend.
“I need copper and wood too, Greebo. How much do you still have in your bag?” I asked, knowing that I’d left repair materials with him on more than one occasion and hoped that he’d kept all the leftovers.
Greebo searched through the expanding backpack at his feet, throwing out the processed tin and monster parts he’d been given. He smiled as he found the supply of wood and copper that I’d given him and dropped the materials in my lap. The pile of wood and copper wouldn’t be enough to get me to full health, but it would help get me out of the danger zone.
“Query: How long will it take to repair my systems with the materials available?”
Running diagnostic tool…
Estimated time for repairs with materials available: 2 hours 2 minutes
“No! That’s still too long,” I said to myself then asked, “Query: What are the quickest repairs possible with the materials available?”
Running diagnostic tool…
Estimated time for quickest repairs with materials available: 12 minutes
I shook my head and grabbed Greebo with my arm stubs, pulling him in close to me. “It will take me at least twelve minutes to repair even the simplest areas and over two hours to use what you’ve given me. We can’t wait that long.” I called out the other Flintlock Rifle and the paper cartridges from my internal inventory, and they dropped straight to the ground since my hands weren’t able to grasp them as they appeared. I pointed at them with my stubs and said, “Take this and kill those monsters. I know you’ve seen me use it before, but pay attention to what I’m about to say.” I then described how to use the paper cartridges to reload the weapon and had him do it in front of me. I know he’d seen me use the weapon before, but I needed him to know exactly what needed to be done. When he was finished, I pointed with my arm stubs to each part as I said, “It’s simple to shoot. Just look straight down the barrel, use the sight at the end of the barrel to aim, then pull the trigger. Just fire and keep running around while you reload, and Manny and the others distract the monsters.”
He nodded, eyes wide, as he held the weapon I’d tried to keep secret for so long. “I’ll take care of it and kill those birds.” The rifle was heavy, and he had to adjust his grip to keep his balance as he stood. He looked up at the attacking monsters then back down to me with a sharp-toothed smile. “Don’t worry, Bolts. We’ll have roasted condor for dinner tonight.”
Then he left the circle and ran toward the Divas and Manny. The goblin awkwardly raised and aimed the rifle. It was longer than he was, but Greebo had both the strength and, more importantly, the dexterity to wield the weapon. He was knocked back two steps as he pulled the trigger and fired. The shot missed, but the sound of the gun going off was loud, even from a distance, and everyone turned at the sound, including the monsters. They understood the devastation the weapon could deal since they had already seen the rest of their flock die to it, and they started to circle Greebo as he tried to reload.
I shouted out, “Distract the monsters while he reloads!”
The Divas continued to throw rocks, but Manny ran toward Greebo and stood in front of him, shield held out, ready to take the attack of the monsters. Greebo tamped down the paper cartridge in the rifle barrel, poured the gunpowder into the firing pan, and raised the rifle again. He took a knee, aimed, and as one of the Lightning Condor dove at the two goblins, Greebo fired. The sound of the gunshot staggered Manny who was too close to the barrel of the gun, but he quickly recovered and kept his shield up. The monster’s talons never reached him as the bird was blown out of the air in an explosion of feathers. The monster wasn’t dead, but it would be soon. The dwarven leader of the Divas gripped her axe and moved toward the fallen condor. Devena growled, and her body glowed red as she activated a special ability and leapt the distance to the fallen bird in a single bound, her axe nearly severing the monster in half as it fell thanks to her full weight being added to the enhanced blow.
I felt relief as the monster was killed, and I watched as Greebo started running to a new position as he reloaded with Manny following behind. Even if he took two or three shots to take down each condor, Greebo could take out the monsters as long as he kept moving. I called up the repair program again with a command and initiated the quickest repair option. Because of the extent of damage, I was given the option to go to the Stasis Program while repairs were completed, but I declined. I didn’t want to miss the fight, even if I wouldn’t be able to participate further. I felt my body freeze as t
he repair program started and looked out as the rest of the fight unfolded.
Greebo continued to run and fire the Flintlock Rifle with Manny following to provide protection. The Divas distracted the birds any time they tried to charge their Spark spell to attack, preventing them from getting off more than a shot or two, which Manny took with his armor and shield.
Even though he missed two out of three shots, Greebo’s high dexterity allowed him to eventually wound another Lightning Condor, briefly dropping it from the air. It was enough to put it in the twin’s range, and they jumped high in the air, their short swords flashing as they struck out. Frik double-stabbed the monster in the breast and only partially twisted out of the way as a sharp talon swiped at him in response. There was a splash of blood as the talon scored a light gash across the goblin’s chest. He would have been a prime target as he fell back to the ground, but Frak appeared behind the bird and with a devastating horizontal swipe of his blades, decapitated the monster. All three dropped to the ground together, the goblins landing softly and the bird plopping down with a thud, minus its head.
The last Lightning Condor scanned the enemies below it and for a moment I thought it would flee like the Fire Foxes had when it was obvious they could not win, but instead, the bird locked its gaze on me, the most wounded of the group, and it dived at me. I knew I was dead if its talons got hold of me, as I could not move while in this repair mode. My eyes saw the level three and four goblin miners that still surrounded me, tense as they decided whether or not they’d keep their bodies between me and the level six monster. Their flesh would only provide a few moments of protection before the monster killed me in my vulnerable state.