“That is a tough problem,” Almira admitted. “I wish I could help you.”
Flora looked up, “Can you listen to the advice Lilith gave me? I would like your opinion on what she suggested.”
Almira nodded, settling in as Flora relayed Lilith's advice from earlier. Almira let out a soft whistle when she was finished. “That is a bold idea. I know you have no feelings of lust for the female form, so that is a step. Then again, it doesn't have to be sexual, does it? You can do exactly as Lilith suggested and just bind and dominate Tabitha, making Stewart watch. Maybe if he sees you trying to work through your struggles, he might give a little in return.”
Flora sniffled, “I don't know if I can, though. Do you think it will work?”
Almira considered her friend’s emotional state. “Let me think on it and I will give you my honest answer later, okay?”
Flora nodded, and Almira went to her own tent for the night. Flora sat there as night finally fell, leaving the world in darkness. The moon— Nightlight— rose above the horizon while she looked up at the sky and considered what she should do.
A bit over an hour later, Flora got to her feet and approached Stewart's tent. She hesitated as she listened to his light snores. Chewing her lip, she took a deep breath and stepped inside. Kneeling down next to Stewart's sleeping form, she gently brushed his hair back from his face.
Eyes fluttering open, Stewart looked up to meet Flora's eyes, which shone slightly in the low light. “Is it time?”
“Yes, it is your watch. Can we talk for a bit?”
Stewart nodded as he pushed his bedroll off to grab his armor. “I'll meet you outside in a moment.”
Flora exited the tent and sat down in the middle of camp, pouring two cups of tea while she waited for him. When Stewart came out of the tent, a small smile graced his lips when he saw her with the waiting cups.
“Good evening, Flora,” Stewart greeted her as he took a seat next to her. “Thank you for the tea.” He picked up the cup and took a sip, looking at her in the night’s light.
Her leopard spots seemed to shimmer slightly as the moonlight illuminated her. She met his eyes with a hesitant smile, “Stewart... we need to talk.” She took a deep breath. “It's about Tabitha.”
Stewart's face lost the smile, his eyes going hooded. He could feel himself shutting down, thinking that another argument was about to come. “What about her?”
Flora heard the shift in his tone and sighed, “I do not want to start a fight, okay? We both know how I feel about her. However, I was given a bit of advice and I am thinking maybe... I am being unfair to a point. I want to know, do you think me asking you to stop giving her the time she wants is akin to abandoning her?”
Stewart felt his face harden further, “Yes. It is exactly that. Consider if the group here just suddenly stopped hunting with you. On top of that, you never got to explore the world again, and were stuck waiting for someone to call you. Would that not be being abandoned?”
Flora heard his voice go cold and hard as he replied, and she did her best to stop herself from retorting out of anger. “I don't know, that is why I ask. Now that you have told me, I need to think more on what I've asked you.” She stood abruptly, tossing her tea aside as she stalked off to her tent.
Stewart watched her go, wondering why she started another argument. Taking a deep breath, he sipped his tea. He was still pondering her words when his shift came to an end.
Shaking his head, he went to Alistern's tent and tapped a tent pole, “Al, it’s your turn.”
Stewart heard a grunt, followed by some rustling. The flap was pushed aside as Alistern came out, rubbing his eyes. “Aye. Get some sleep.”
Stewart nodded to his friend and headed back to bed, his mind still turning over what Flora had said. Alistern watched Stewart go, obviously lost in thought, before he sat down next to his tent. A few minutes later, Lilith came out of the tent and took a seat next to him.
“He is troubled, as is Flora. I do hope she follows my advice and they can come to a happy, even ground.” Lilith stated softly as she leaned against Alistern.
“Aye, one can hope. Grimgar and Almira still resist the obvious connection they have, too. It saddens me some to watch them both tap dance around each other as they do. I was lucky tha' we found each other. Heh, lucky tha' ya was me Succubus.”
Lilith let out a soft laugh as she nuzzled her head into his shoulder, “I am by far luckier. My master cared enough to nurture my love of him. Not one in a thousand Succubi are as lucky as I.”
The rest of their watch was quiet, with only the sound of a soft breeze rustling the night. Grimgar's watch was equally boring as he sharpened his blades. Eventually, it was time to wake Almira. Taking a moment, he crept to her tent.
He tapped at a pole, but got no response. Sticking his head in the tent flap to see if she was up, he could see her huddled shape in her bedroll. A smile flickered across his face briefly as he looked at her sleeping form. He reached out and gently tapped her foot. “Almira, lass, it be ye watch.”
Almira rolled over, one bare leg coming out of her bedroll when she shifted. Grimgar gazed at the creamy skin that was on display and gulped as he considered running his hand across it. Closing his eyes, he shook his head before he reached out and patted her calf. “Lass, it be ye watch. Time to wake.”
Her eyes shot open as she rolled clear of the bedroll, her hand coming up with her hammer. A second later, her eyes focused on Grimgar, who was staring at her with his mouth open. “Ah, my watch?”
Grimgar just gazed at her, his eyes flicking over her nearly bare figure. Her smooth pale skin seemed to glow in the faint light. He tried to speak, but his mouth was too dry, so he gave a jerky nod.
Almira blinked, trying to figure out why he seemed so stunned until she recalled she went to bed in her undergarments only. Dropping the hammer, she covered her breasts as she quickly sat down. “I'm up, get out,” she snapped.
Grimgar finally snapped out of his own trance, falling over backwards as her words jolted him. “Aye, sorry.”
He rushed for his tent and dove into it, afraid of what she might say if he was still there when she came out. He couldn't get the image of her bathed in moonlight out of his mind. He hoped she would forgive him by the time they broke camp.
Almira came out a couple of minutes later, wearing her armor and ready for the day. She looked around for Grimgar, frowning, but didn't see him. With a sigh, she packed her gear and started getting everything ready for the others.
At the end of her watch, she went around waking everyone. The sun was just starting to lighten the sky when she returned to the fire in the middle of camp. She had a fresh pot of tea ready as well as bread and cheese.
Each person came out of their tent, armored and ready for the day. They fell into their usual routine, packing the tents away and gathering their bags, before finally coming over to the fire to accept some breakfast.
“The camp token should have a handful of charges left on it,” Stewart told them. “We’ll have to think about getting a new one next time we’re in town.”
“Aye, but they are well worth being out of sight of anyone and being immune to attacks. It be too bad they do nay stop weather effects like sandstorms.” Alistern mused as he chewed his bread.
“We should make the ruins tonight, right?” Flora asked.
“Aye,” Grimgar nodded, “iffin nothin' bad happens.” He kept his eyes away from Almira while they ate, unsure of how to handle the incident of the night before.
Almira kept her gaze fixed on Grimgar during the entire meal. “I am sure that, as adults, we all will be fine.”
Flora's eyes flickered between the two, her brow knitting slightly at the new level of strain between them. “Well, let me pack the pot away and we can start out.”
“Also, thank you Alistern and Lilith for letting us sleep last night,” Stewart added with a chuckle.
Alistern smirked at his friend, “Well, I will nay say tha' it will h
appen again tonight.”
The others rolled their eyes, knowing full well that Alistern would inevitably succumb to Lilith's charms tonight. She rarely let more than a day go by without having him.
“Anyway,” Flora said a moment later, “it's all packed. Let's get going.”
Stewart picked up a hand sized red stone from its place beside the fire. The campfire disappeared and they all became aware of eyes watching them in the same moment.
“Looks like an attack is imminent,” Almira said, her shield and hammer ready as the two Summoners went about calling their minions.
They heard an unearthly moan from the direction of the ruins. Just as Stewart and Alistern finished buffing up their Destroyers, a huge rotting creature lumbered into view. The group blinked at the sight of a Demon Lord— obviously dead and reanimated— coming toward them.
“What the fuck?” Flora shouted. “That shouldn't be possible.”
“Oh, the Dark Lord will be pissed when he finds out about this,” Almira said, advancing to the front of the group and standing in line with the Destroyers. “Okay boys, let me take the first part of it.”
The Destroyers nodded, wondering how a Demon Lord had been resurrected as an undead. Infernals were supposed to return to the Infernal plane when they died, not leave a body behind for Necromancers to play with.
Grimgar vanished as the monster advanced, “I'll be waitin' behind it lass, say when.”
Almira let out a controlled breath and nodded. “Will do, just be careful of its tail and wings.”
Flora didn’t know if her vines would be able to hold it in place, but figured it couldn’t hurt to try. The two Summoners and the Imps all prepared Fire Bolts, holding them as they waited for Almira to engage it.
It had closed to within twenty feet of her when she caught the scent of it. She gagged on the bile that rose in her throat as it approached. “It has a stench debuff,” she choked out to warn the others. “Stay back at least twenty-five feet.” The Destroyers near her all suddenly looked ill.
Ten feet from her, the Demon Lord leaned down from its fifteen-foot height and breathed out. A cloud of insects billowed from its open mouth right at the tanks. The swarm was thick enough to cut off sight of those caught within a ten-foot area.
The Destroyers used their damage mitigation Ability as their life began to fall in short order. Almira wanted to scream but didn't dare as the small biting bugs went through the gaps of her helm, her face covered in the swarming insects. She stumbled backwards, hoping to get out of the area as her life diminished rapidly.
Flora tried to use Revitalizing Life on Almira while her health continued to plummet, but the swarm made it impossible to target her. “Almira, get out! I can't heal you,” Flora screamed.
Almira turned to run for it, and the creature let out an ear-piercing scream of rage. Everyone in the area was hit with a five second stun, trapping Almira in the area of effect even longer.
Stewart was able to target the monster enough to get the information on it. Experiment 9, level ???, 1,000,000/1,000,000 health. Feeling the blood drain from his face, Stewart waited for the stun to wear off. As soon as it fell off, he yelled.
“Run for it! That thing is one of Necromancer Stein's experiments! We would need a full raid to beat it.” He ran forward as the swarm began to thin, hoping to help Almira.
Almira stumbled out of the thinning swarm, her life almost gone. “Run. I'll hold it for a few seconds,” she gasped, then fell over. She had a poison debuff on her that had been caused by the insects.
Flora began her healing spell again, but Almira's life had run out before the spell finished. “Fuck, not enough time.”
Experiment 9 let out a broken laugh as it stepped forward again. The three Destroyers stood in front of it, each of them at half life. “Death soon? The master will be pleased.” Its voice was something out of a nightmare; the deep rough voice of a Demon Lord, blended with sandpaper and a rusty saw, seemed to scrape across their ears.
Grimgar ambushed it from behind as the mob raised its clawed hands to strike the Destroyers. “A little hamstring debuff for ye, ye fuckin' git.”
Alistern called out, “Everyone, run back to the fort. That is where Almira will spawn.”
Flora growled, knowing that bringing her friend back to life right now was pointless, as the monster would probably just squish her as soon as she stood up. “Grimgar, we’re running,” she yelled and took off running.
“We will delay it, master,” Theoliphius rumbled as his Copy tried to block the massive claw of the monster.
Grimgar ran to the side of the beast and turned toward his friends, catching sight of Almira's form. His breath caught when he saw her body. He started to pray that she would come back to them just as the rotting tail of Experiment 9 hit him solidly in the back. Grimgar let out a gasp and felt himself go airborne, landed, and rolled down the sand dune near his friends.
“Fuckin’ hell,” Grimgar was able to gasp when Stewart dragged him to his feet.
“Run,” Alistern bellowed, sprinting past the two with Flora hot on his heels. Grimgar and Stewart followed suit, turning tail and running for all they were worth as the broken laughter of Experiment 9 echoed after them.
They ran as hard as they could until Flora collapsed into the sand, panting. “Can't... run...”
The others came to a halt, panting hard. They looked back the way they had come, but nothing but the sands being blown gently by the wind could be seen.
“Ya think it be followin' us still?” Alistern asked once he had caught his breath.
Stewart shook his head, “No. If it had, I'm sure it would be taunting us with its laughter.”
“We need to get back to the fort to meet up with Almira again,” Flora added, her breathing starting to even out.
Alistern pulled out his Mindstone and sent Almira a message. A moment later, he got his reply from her.
Message from Almira:
If you all want, Homestone back to Stormguard, then portal back out here. I don't think I can get back out there on my own.
“Almira asks that we return to Stormguard, then take a portal back out,” Alistern informed the group.
Grimgar nodded, “Aye, tha' be for the best, me be thinkin'.”
Stewart chewed his lip. “Maybe we should see about raising a raid group while we’re in the city. If we could lead them back out here to fight that thing, it should be worth it.”
Flora considered his idea and nodded. “He has a point. Taking down one of Stein's Experiments would be something people would join up to do.”
“Do we really want to tangle with that thin' again?” Alistern asked. The rest of the group fell silent for a moment and shook their heads. “Okay, then we stone back and portal to the fort to meet up with Almira. We’ll take a detour out toward the ruins after advising the fort commander that Experiment 9 is close by.”
The others agreed, taking out their Homestones to go back to Stormguard. “I'll tell Almira what we’re planning,” Flora said, holding her Mindstone in one hand and her Homestone in the other.
They waited for her to send the message, and then went back to the city together.
~*~*~
It took them some time to gather back at the Portal Guild. The receptionist was surprised to see them again so soon, but sent them on their way.
As they were following his father up the stairs, Rolland asked a question, “Where is your other friend? Is she okay?”
Grimgar nodded. “Aye lad, she avoided the final death again. She be waitin’ for us at the fort.”
Ronald frowned slightly, “What did you all encounter?”
Stewart grunted, “Experiment 9.”
Ronald blanched, “Gods forbid, I thought that monster was a myth.”
“It isn’t a myth. We encountered it but a day out from the fort,” Flora said, her face taut. “We will let the commander there know.”
Ronald looked a little pale, “Thank you for your efforts.”
<
br /> Rolland, who was skipping along behind them, asked another question, “Was it huge? I heard that the experiments of Stein are like... fifty feet tall.”
Alistern chuckled, “No lad, it was nay that tall. It was only fifteen feet, but it was quite shockin’ to see.”
When they had reached the room, Ronald bowed them toward the rune, “Again, our thanks for your news. I hope you don’t meet that thing again, today or any other.”
As everyone stepped onto the rune and disappeared, Flora stopped and thanked Ronald before she stepped forward. When she had vanished, Rolland tugged at his father’s pant leg. “Dad, is it true it takes a large group of the mightiest adventurers to kill something like that?”
Ronald nodded. “Yes, son. It will take over two dozen of the most powerful adventurers to take that beast down. If the Keep mobilizes all of its forces, they might be able to kill it, but even then, they might want to call for more men.”
Tales from the Dead Man Inn Page 3