by RW Krpoun
Chapter Thirteen
“Well, that was an education,” Jeff observed as Shad used charms to heal Fred’s arm and Derek’s leg. The Talons were back in the rain, having slain two more revenants on their way out.
“Yeah,” Fred sighed, massaging his arm. “But it wasn’t free.”
“Let’s head back,” Shad flicked water off his hat and settled it back in place. “Our rain cloaks are about fifty yards east of here.”
“Well, all twelve sticks fired, and they affect the revenants,” a pale-faced Derek observed as he limped along through the rain. “And the revenants are used to being hard to see, so they are careless; that’s good to know. Steel affects them, as do my spells.”
“The thing we do not know is if they communicate,” Shad observed as they reached their rain cloaks. “If they don’t, we will have an advantage next time; if not, then we have a problem.”
“They don’t communicate,” Derek snapped his fingers. “Other outlanders have been here-we know that for a fact.’
“And even being able to see them isn’t all that huge of an advantage,” Jeff observed. “That last pair really got rough.”
“They knew we had dealt with others,” Fred said somberly. “We were heading out-that tipped them off.”
“Which means we need to plan based on the fact that extraction is harder than infiltration,” Shad agreed.
“We didn’t go very far in,” Sam said worriedly. “The deepest point we reached was pretty picked over. How are we going to get further in?”
“I didn’t use my runes this time, and we will also move faster next time,” Shad explained as he unlaced the left cuff of his shirt of plates. “Tomorrow we need to operate at the trot, and do more studying of the scene before we enter so that we have a loot plan in place before we move.”
“Why wait until tomorrow?” Derek asked. “I can draw enough power inside our quarters to be ready by the afternoon.”
The Jinxman held up his left arm. “Because tonight we are going to level.”
As the fort came into view Jeff jabbed a finger at it. “Can we trust Justin?”
“In what particular?” Sam asked.
“He could tip off some bandit friends when we leave.”
“If we are tough enough to pull significant loot off the Great Field then robbing us would be a high-risk operation,” Shad pointed out. “And if we take one of his buddies alive, Justin’s skull would not survive the next scar. No, he won’t tip bandits, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he’s reporting visitors to various factions.”
“The Council, you think?”
“Stands to reason,” Jeff mused. “Outlanders have an advantage here, and it’s the best way to gear up quick.”
“Which makes me wonder,” Shad said slowly. “They brought us here as pure first levels in terms of equipment, strictly off-the-shelf gear. I wondered at the start why they couldn’t have slipped us a few enchanted items to give us an edge.”
“Budget issues?” Sam suggested.
“Maybe. But why not tell us about the Great Field? That wouldn’t cost them a dime, or copper penny, and it would give us an edge in the job of taking out the people the Council wants us to take out. If it wasn’t for Sam we would still be drudging around for cash and experience. Still fourth level.”
“Sam, how hard was it to learn about this place?” Derek asked.
“Huh? Well…not so much. I spend a lot of time listening to bravos talk. Getting the hard data on the place, now, that was another proposition. A lot of the stuff they say in the taverns is pretty far off base.”
“Without the bang sticks the odds of getting anything worth risking your life is pretty thin,” Jeff said thoughtfully. “I’m not looking forward to going back in.”
“Derek, what did we get?” Shad asked the Shadowmancer.
“A steel skull-cap type helm, a bow, a saddle quiver with etched brass inlaid plates, the rope, and a pouch of coins,” he flipped the Jinxman a hexagonal silver coin. “Forty-one of these.”
“Huh. I wonder if anyone collects coins in this place.” He passed the coin back. “See what exchange rate Justin will give us, and what food he has for sale.”
“We would get a better price in the City-State,” Jeff pointed out.
“Bravos showing up with ancient coins would draw too much attention,” Fred shook his head. “Sam heard about us selling that bronze sword.”
“Good point.”
Margit had water on the boil and a stew bubbling in their small camp kettle when they arrived at their quarters, so the Talons were able to wash up a bit and get a meal of sorts.
“Derek, get a read on the captured gear ASAP,” Shad said as he laid out his tools. “What did Justin offer for the coins?”
“Ten Marks, a ten-pound ham, twenty big potatoes, and six loaves of fairly fresh bread for the coins and the quiver.”
“That’s fair. Give Margit two Marks.” Shad caught Jeff looking at him and shrugged. “We’re going home-she’s stuck here.”
“He did that shit in Iraq, too,” Fred advised Sam. “Inconsistent bastard. Light up an entire neighborhood, then hand out MREs.”
Shad held up a single digit before resuming work on his charms.
Other than Derek playing with the loot and Shad working on charms, the Talons spent the afternoon napping, rousing only when Margit finished making their evening meal.
“How are we on charms?” Jeff asked as Margit dished out ham and potato stew.
“About where we were this morning.” Shad leaned forward to see Derek. “What’s the word on the loot?”
“The helm is superior craftsmanship but not enchanted. The bow and rope are enchanted-the bow is a very high quality composite bow juiced up to deal double damage when the target is within a hundred feet. The rope is some sort of silk, I’m guessing spider silk. It’s a command-able rope, you can send it to tie itself off to something non-living.’
“That will make climbing easier, if we ever have to climb anything.”
“Its more than that-I used it to pick up branches and my bow case-we can use it to snake loot out when we get in as deep as we dare.”
“Does it come back to you?”
“No, you have to reel it in like regular rope. But that’s still faster than moving the entire wedge.”
“Good point. This is great stew, Margit.”
The girl ducked her head, but they could see a hint of a smile.
“Anyhow, only Fred can use a helm, and you’re the only one who uses a bow, so no dice tonight, guys. Sam, you need to learn how to use the rope first thing tomorrow, because Derek will need both hands on his new bow.”
“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Jeff asked.
“Once Sam is good on the rope I’ll load the bang sticks and we’ll make a loot run from the south side. Further planning will wait until that is done.”
“I’m going back to bed,” Fred announced as he mopped his bowl clean with a piece of bread. “I’ve got to grow back some blood and this dump still beats sleeping on the ground.”
They were up with the dawn to freshly-baked flatbread and reheated ham. “OK, leveling report: I stayed in class, nothing new in charms or runes, but the ones I make from now on will be a little more potent. I put two points into Fast Scabbard since I’m caught up on my admin skills.”
“I went with Shadowmancer, but I picked up composite bow as a specialty, and put two points in Item Lore so I don’t waste power,” Derek announced. “I’m up to four bolts if I don’t use anything else, and they hit harder than they used to.”
“I stuck with class. Took combat skills in fighting Undead and Goblins,” Fred advised.
“Why goblins?” Sam asked.
“You said the route to the tomb is underground,” the barbarian pointed out.
“I went with Night-grifter even though I’m not using the skills much,” Jeff rolled up a slice of ham in a round of flatbread. “And bought a point in fighting undead and one in
gem settings for our harnesses.”
“Well, that boosts our combat capability by a significant margin,” Shad said with some satisfaction. “Hopefully it will be enough.”
Justin was working in the four-acre garden planted to the east of the fort; he waved to the Talons but otherwise did not pause in his hoeing.
“How far in do we go today?” Derek asked, looking up at the overcast sky. It wasn’t raining, but the clouds were thick enough that every Talon had his rain cloak rolled and slung.
“Until we see something likely,” Shad said, testing his draw on his sword, which was considerably faster than it had been than the day before.
Fred had mounted his helm inside his bearskin, where it fit extremely well. He rapped his knuckles against it, the noise muffled by the fur. “I feel better for yesterday’s run.”
“Can we attack revenants from outside the Valley?” Jeff asked.
“Nope,” Sam said glumly. “They get the home-court advantage in all things.”
“I’m beginning to see why there’s no big line of bravos wanting to try this place,” Derek mused. “Losses here must be pretty high.”
“If you sent several big groups in at widely separated points you could bring out a lot of gear, but I bet you would lose a lot of guys doing that,” Jeff shrugged.
“If we had a half-dozen more outlanders and two dozen more bang sticks this place would be a breeze,” Shad grinned. “But I’m not interested in sticking around that long. Sam, you sure we can’t just buy our way out?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“You said the other group pulled an artifact out of here-do you know how they did it?” Fred asked.
“I’m not sure, but they lost three guys doing it. They had been looking for individuals and partial groups since they arrived.”
“No lessons from them, then.”
“What about trying to blitz through, just cut across from one side to the other?” Jeff wondered.
“It’s the best part of a mile across,” Shad objected.
“Yesterday we went in nearly a quarter mile, then came back,” Jeff pointed out. “By cutting straight across we might fake out the revenants.”
“We’ll have to go in nearly a half mile in order to get at the good stuff,” Derek observed. “Doubling back or going forward amounts to the same distance.”
“A mile with twelve bang sticks,” Shad sighed. “OK, no more than one stick per revenant unless it gets desperate. We’re going to do this at double time, with two stops, three at the most for very fast looting. I want to grab gear, but speed is essential. We need to look at the footing conditions since places where the bodies are stacked will make moving tricky, much less trying for fast movement.”
“The rope will help where the bodies are stacked deep,” Derek pointed out.
“I certainly hope so. Let’s keep moving until we find the right spot.”
“There,” Derek jerked his chin. “Don’t point, Sam, revenants aren’t blind. That little rise is it.”
Shad studied the scene, keeping his body and head at an angle to the target. A small fold of ground at the near-exact center of the north-south axis of the Field had been crowned with one of the huge strange vehicles. There was no signs of the creatures that had towed it there, so the placement had apparently been deliberate. The vehicle was devastated-it was partially burned and partially melted, the great wooden timbers having flowed and set like heated plastic. The remainder of the rise was covered in bodies, stacked two or three deep in places, and the slope and surrounding ground were thickly littered with corpses, so much so that it would be possible to walk from the crest to a point at least a hundred yards out, stepping from body to body without once touching the ground.
“I see what you mean: a fight that savage, there had to be heroes on both sides there, and the defenders certainly died. Positioned the way it is, not many looters will have reached it and lived.”
“If we move up to that funny-shaped bush there and then abruptly haul ass, we could get a little element of surprise,” Fred suggested.
“That’s a plan,” Shad nodded as he dug out his vials of rune-ink and armor charms. “Sam, start singing. We’ll buff to the max here and then get about this business. Derek, we need a sword, axe, artifact, cash, and small stuff that is easy to grab. Speed is key.”
“Too bad-I really would like a better set of armor,” the big barbarian sighed.
“No time to get one off a body, but what about dragging one clear with the rope?” Jeff suggested. “We can bury the remains.”
“What if it hangs up on something?” Shad asked.
“Grab one on the far side of the fight, and steer for clear grass-in fact, we need to steer for clear areas to avoid bad footing.”
“Well, we can try. Anchor the rope on Fred and Sam can help pull the body. Fred picked up a horse yesterday, so even a big guy won’t weigh all that much after this amount of time. Worse comes to worse we can drop it. On another point we have six smoke candles; I suggest Sam drop them behind us in a line once we’re about a hundred yards in.”
“Why?” Jeff asked.
“To take the revenants think we’re going to double back or have something else going on. Distraction, mainly.”
“No harm in it,” the Night-grifter shrugged. “Any help is welcome.”
“Five…four…three…two…one…GO!” The wedge of Talons abruptly turned and burst into the sunlight at a brisk trot.
The first revenant hit them at around one hundred yards, dying abruptly on a bang stick and Fred’s axe. The Talons resumed their charge, Sam tossing smoke sticks behind them until all six had been deployed. At a little over two hundred yards three Undead came for them, but one diverted into the smoke trail first, narrowing the odds.
They came again at four hundred yards, three at once, hitting from all sides, and Jeff’s bang-stick misfired. Shad burned charm after charm to close the terrible wound in Jeff’s side as Fred hacked the last revenant apart, aided by two bolts from Derek.
“Talk to me, Jeff,” the Jinxman gasped.
The shop teacher coughed and spat red-tinted spittle. “I think I’m OK.”
“That was a helluva hit,” Derek said, dropping two replacement plates onto the Night-grifter’s chest without looking away from his quarter of the circle.
“Lucky shot,” Jeff grunted, tucking the new plates into place after Shad worked the damaged ones free from their torn pouches.
“Better to be lucky than good,” Shad stood and helped Jeff stand. “We’re down six sticks and the buffs have taken a beating.”
“They’re down six revenants,” Fred pointed out, wrapping a boiled bandage around a shallow gash on the back of his left hand and the pulling the damaged fingerless glove back on.
“Lets go, at a walk,” Shad sighed. Taking the misfired bang stick from Sam he carefully re-primed it and cocked the simple hammer assembly. “No more running-the charms don’t really replace blood.”
“I’m good to go,” Jeff said stoutly.
“I don’t doubt it, but we need to save something for the rest of the trip.”
“We’re about five hundred yards in,” Fred announced quietly.
“About three hundred yards until the rise,” Derek squinted at their destination.
“Worry about the next step you take,” Shad reminded them. “The next step and the next fight. Nothing else matters, because if you don’t survive that the rest is moot.”
Grim-faced and bloody the Talons moved at a brisk walk, passing the first scattering of corpses from the outside edge of the fight. A couple bodies lacked belts or showed where pouches had been cut away, but those were quickly left behind.
“One hundred yards to the rise,” Fred said, keeping his voice low.
“Will they hit us when we stop?” Shad wondered.
“Last time they only hit us when we were moving,” Jeff pointed out. “That feeds into their near-invisibility.”
“Good point. Derek, I’
ve got your sector-you look for loot.”
“Got it. Fred, guide towards that red banner with the thing with wings in black on it.”
“Yeah, I see it-up near the wreck.”
They had to step on corpses as they approached the rise. “Sorry, friend,” Shad said softly as he stepped on a hollow torso covered in dark mail and a yellow surcoat. Two bodies later he bent quickly to tug a necklace from a body, dropping it into the sack on the back of his belt. Moments later he felt Derek shove something that jingled into the bag.
“Keep your eyes moving, guys,” Jeff warned the Talons. “Bad footing makes this place ideal for revenants.”
“Derek!” Fred hissed. “There’s an axe stuck into the side of the wreck, above the second-to last wheel.”
“Stay on course-the rope will reach.”
“Incoming, southeast!” Shad snapped, setting his feet. The revenant popped into full view only to catch a silver-blue bolt of power and a glancing hit from Sam’s slung bullet. As it swept in imperiously Shad stepped forward and thrust with the bang stick, which fired this time, the blast devastating the creature’s leg.
Stepping back carefully the Jinxman dropped the bang stick and drew his sword, parrying the thing’s right blade and ducking its left slash as he did a one-step thrust, running his blade deep into the revenant’s torso. As he withdrew Derek hit it with another bolt, sending the creature into its cloudy demise.
“Anyone see my hat?” Shad felt the side of his head; his fingers came back bloody.
“Downslope, I think,” Sam said as he adjusted his growing load of empty bang sticks.
“Forget it.”
“I’m down to my bow, guys,” Derek advised as he cut a pouch off the belt of a long-dead Dwarf.
“We’re past the point of return. Let’s go.”
Sam deployed the rope to twine around the axe’s handle as they reached the banner, and with Fred’s help the weapon was jerked free and dragged to the Talons. Meanwhile Derek scrambled from body to body, muttering to himself.
“How are we doing, Derek?” Shad asked. “The clock is running.”