Shadow Sun Unification: Shadow Sun Book Five

by Dave Willmarth

  There was some cheering from folks farther down the wall, those who were close to the target and had a view of the carnage. McCoy reported, “Good hit. Got most of ‘em!”

  Allistor monitored the radio as he resumed searching for adepts to take down. He heard McCoy observe that the newly arriving zombies were now avoiding that blocked side street, obviously being directed away from the dead end trap. He was wondering to himself just how intelligent the lich’s minions might be, and whether they could communicate with each other, when he began hearing screams.

  Maybe fifty yards to his left, several people were down, writhing in pain atop the wall and screaming. Allistor cast a heal on the nearest of them, but it didn’t seem to have any effect. He saw Nancy and two other healers moving toward them from both directions, and decided to leave them to it, then cringed as one of the wounded rolled off the inside edge of the wall, falling onto concrete thirty feet below. Their writhing ceased, and they didn’t move at all.

  As he turned back to look through his rifle scope, he spotted another adept. This one had just stuck its head out from behind a brick building, and was waving its hands. The eyes were glowing more brightly than the one he’d shot, and Allistor quickly understood why. There was a sort of pulse, a visible wave of green-tinted magic that erupted from the adept and washed outward down the street. Within moments of its passing, many of the corpses that had dropped when he’d killed the first adept got back to their feet.

  “Oh, hell no.” Allistor mumbled to himself as he sighted in on the adept. The spell was ending, and it began to withdraw back toward the alley. Allistor pulled the trigger, not having time to sight cleanly before it disappeared back around the corner. His aim was good, and the adept’s body fell, followed shortly by a much larger number of lifeless corpses hitting the ground.

  Nancy’s voice came through raid chat rather than the radio. The raid channel included Allistor, his inner circle, all the raid and Stronghold leaders.

  “We just lost half a dozen people to some kind of necrotic magic. Our cure potions didn’t work, nor did our standard heals. We managed to save one with a light magic healing spell. By the time we figured that out, it was too late for the others. We need all light magic casters to be prepared with heals.”

  “Shit.” Allistor grumbled. “We should have thought of that ahead of time. Everybody knows you use light magic against dark.”

  He didn’t transmit this, as his people were already quickly and efficiently spreading the word. The undead clearly had mages that could reach his people atop the wall, and they’d begun attacking. Allistor wasn’t sure if it was the adepts, or some other type of undead caster. But he needed to find out, and find a way to deal with them quickly.

  Down the line, Allistor heard another group begin screaming.

  Chapter 14

  Goodrich whistled as he walked through the subway tunnel, not at all concerned about alerting any monsters ahead to his presence. In fact, he was using this scouting mission as an opportunity to clear these sections of tunnel of any remaining mobs. At some point Allistor would probably want to reactivate the underground transport system, and Goodrich figured as long as he was down here with a seasoned raid team, they might as well get some work done.

  All of his people were at or near level fifty, and had been in multiple fights as a team. They worked well together, and he was looking forward to taking them on some dungeon runs once Allistor had those new dungeon cores set up. In the meantime, they were all behind him, chatting and teasing each other, completely at ease and confident in their ability to handle anything they found down here.

  Goodrich stopped whistling when he heard a familiar sound down a maintenance tunnel to his left. It wasn’t something he’d heard in person, but he recognized it from every zombie holo he’d ever watched. The moans of the undead.

  The side tunnel had once had a solid metal door with Authorized Personnel Only stenciled on it. That door lay bent and dented on the train track off to one side, as if something powerful had pounded on it until it broke free. The rest of his team went silent out of habit, tilting their heads to listen. Eyes widened, and their healer immediately got on his radio to report possible contact, and their location. Two light globes glided over Goodrich’s head and down the tunnel, stopping about twenty feet ahead of him.

  “Alright, you’ve all seen the movies. Head shots, decapitation, and fire. Try to avoid fire if they’re in close. I don’t want them stumbling in amongst us, or scorching our tanks.” As he spoke, the group’s two tanks equipped shields and stepped ahead of him, one holding a sword in his free hand, the other a spear. Goodrich and two others equipped bows for ranged damage and moved to the back, while their healer and damage casters grouped up in the center of their formation. It was a narrow tunnel, just wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Those in the center went single file to leave a clear line of sight for the archers to fire on either side.

  “Push through as fast as we can, let’s find a room or a wide spot where we can spread out.” Goodrich thought for a bit, then added, “And don’t get bit. If you do get bit, call it out right away. I don’t know if these things are contagious, but let’s assume it’s a worst case scenario.”

  The tanks began moving at a fast walk, their shields held in front of them as they advanced toward the end of the tunnel. The twin light globes remained ahead of them, illuminating the tunnel a good twenty feet out. They stopped when they reached a pair of doors, one on each side of the corridor. One tank remained facing forward toward the now growing sound of shuffling and moans, while the other tried the door on the right. It was unlocked, and swung inward with a squeal of rusty hinges. Goodrich, right behind the tank, had put his bow away and drawn a spear from his inventory. As the tank advanced into the room, he cast his own light globe and sent it up to the ceiling.

  The room was a small office, a set of lockers along one side, a desk and chair in the corner. A quick sweep of the room revealed it to be unoccupied, and the thick layer of dust on the floor and furniture showed it had been empty for some time. Exiting and closing the door behind them, they switched to the left hand door. This one was locked, but the tank, with his greatly enhanced Strength stat, easily kicked it open.

  There was an immediate screech as half a dozen oversized rats charged forward. The tank planted his shield in the doorway and began slicing at the ravenous creatures with his sword. Behind him, Goodrich stabbed over the tank’s shoulder, skewering one of the creatures and lifting it off its feet. He held it in the air and used Identify while one of the casters behind him fried it with a fireball.

  Vermin Scout

  Level 21

  Health: 0/0

  The rat perished instantly, the high level caster’s spell more than enough to finish it off. It took a minute for the others to perish as well, mostly because they were quick and hard to target accurately. The tank stepped over their corpses, pushing into the much larger space. This one appeared to be a mechanical room filled with pipes, gauges for monitoring voltage, amps, pressure and heat, as well as large generators and what looked like boilers. The back wall of the room was a good fifty feet from the door.

  More vermin rushed out from behind and beneath the long pipe runs, some dropping from above pipes along the ceiling. The tank shouted, using some kind of taunt ability, and all the rats changed course to charge at him. His teammates fanned out behind him, all except the tank who remained in the hallway with one archer to back him up. In moments, another dozen vermin corpses littered the floor in front of the tank. Their healer hit him with a Restore that closed a few minor scratches inflicted by sharp teeth or claws.

  The group scattered around the room, checking for any hidden doors or additional mobs. They didn’t expect to find any other rats, as the tank’s taunt would have drawn them if they were within hearing distance. The healer hung back by the door and looted the corpses, staying nearby the other tank in case he was needed.

  Two minutes later they were c
losing that door behind them and advancing further down the tunnel. In the back, one of the archers whispered, “Man I hope these things are higher level. I got zero xp from those rats.”

  The entire group froze, turning to look at the man. A woman next to him, one of the mages, reached out and slapped the back of his head. “You did not just say that.” she scolded as the others groaned or shook their heads.

  “That’s it. We’re all dead.” One of the tanks muttered, throwing the archer a dirty look. “You just cursed us.”

  The archer did his best to look innocent, shrugging and spreading his hands out to his sides. “C’mon guys. You can’t tell me you believe in that supersti-” He didn’t get to finish the word as the same woman that had slapped him clamped a hand over his mouth.

  “Do not finish that sentence. In fact, unless you see a horde of mobs running up behind us, you’re just not allowed to speak for the rest of this trip. If you need a bio break, just wave and point to your junk or something.” She raised one eyebrow at him, waiting for him to give a slight nod before she removed her hand. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it again. Shaking his head, he motioned for the tanks to keep moving.

  With a resigned sigh, Goodrich turned and followed the tanks. The group reached the end of the tunnel where it took a ninety degree turn to the right, then ended at an iron ladder bolted to the wall ahead of them. The ladder led up to a steel grate that was hinged on one side. When Goodrich stood at the bottom of the ladder and looked up, the light from the globes above him showed him only grid-shaped shadows on the concrete ceiling above it. The sounds of undead shuffling about were much louder here.

  Looking at his two tanks, he grinned. “Which one of you wants to go first?”

  The tanks looked at each other, then back at him. The one who’d grumbled about the curse replied. “Screw that. I can see it now. I climb up there, push up the grate, and get my face bit off. I don’t think so.” The other tank shook his head as well.

  Goodrich didn’t blame them. That was exactly what he’d been picturing too.

  “Okay, I guess this is where we test this new spell Ramon gave us.” He handed his spear to one of the tanks. “I’ll climb up. You use this to push the grate open a bit, and I’ll cast the spell on the floor in front of it. When the zombies run away, you guys follow me up as fast as you can move.” He looked at both of them. “I’m serious. Your heavily armored asses better be right behind me through that hole.”

  Both tanks shook their heads, grinning widely at him. He knew they were just messing with him, that they’d be right there when needed, ready to protect him and the others. His teammates might joke and tease each other, but any one of them would lay down their lives to save another.

  With another deep sigh, and a muttered “Jerks.” Goodrich climbed the iron rungs. At the top he turned and put his back to the ladder, holding on with one hand as he nodded toward the tank with the spear. He used his other hand to guide the butt end of his spear as the tank raised it up, placing it so that it was secure enough to push the grate upward without slipping. The tank pushed, and one side of the grate began to rise as the hinges on the other side squealed in complaint.

  “Shit!” Goodrich pressed his head against the rising grate and sent his light globe forward through the narrow opening, lighting up the floor in front of it. He quickly cast the Repel Undead spell from the scroll, and waited. When he didn’t hear anything, he whispered, “Give it a good shove.”

  Both tanks lent their strength to shoving the spear upward, causing the grate to fly open, clanging to a stop so loudly that everyone in the group ducked their heads briefly. Goodrich scrambled up through the opening, grabbing his spear from the tanks as he did so. He saw them both rushing up the ladder behind him as he surveyed his surroundings.

  They stood in another, much wider corridor this time. The ceiling was ten feet above, and the walls were at least six feet apart, lined with concrete. He held his spear ready as he checked both directions for any threats. A few seconds later both tanks were up with him, one standing on either side of the opening with shields up. They each cast a light globe out ahead, sending them twenty feet down the hallway. They held this position as the others climbed up to join them. Once they were all up, Goodrich closed the grate, just to be safe.

  Something down below had smashed that metal door by the tracks, and he didn’t want it following them up. At least, not without them hearing it coming. He didn’t like leaving the subway tunnel without fully exploring their assigned sector, but his main purpose down there was to scout for undead, and they needed to follow the zombie sounds.

  Those sounds were hard to trace, as they were echoing off the walls and ceilings and appeared to be coming from both directions. Unwilling to split the party and go both ways at once, Goodrich made a decision. “Gimme something that’ll make some noise.” He said, pulling a cooking pan out of his inventory and setting it down atop the grate. He then grabbed a can of baked beans he’d been saving for a special occasion and set it inside the pan. The others handed him similar items, cookware, canteens, some silverware. He then took out a spool of fishing twine and wrapped it around each piece as they were laid out across the hallway. When he was finished, they had a makeshift alarm. Any zombie shuffling past this point would hook the line and drag the clattering metal along with them. It had the added feature of being placed atop the grate, so that anything raising it from below would likewise cause a commotion.

  That done, the group formed up again, this time in a loose cluster since the hall was wider. The tanks walked slightly spaced apart with Goodrich and his spear between them. He also had a shield in his inventory that he could produce if they needed to form a shield wall. Behind them were the healer and casters walking three wide, followed by the archers.

  They moved quickly toward the sound of undead activity, not trying to be quiet. In less than a minute they stepped out into a wide space with a domed ceiling. The walls and ceiling were covered in mosaic tiles, still glossy enough to reflect some of the lights from the several globes the group cast and spread outward in a fan ahead of them.

  The room was filled with zombies.

  They were shuffling across the room from right to left, entering from one tunnel and exiting on the opposite side. If Goodrich had to guess, he’d have said there were three hundred or more of them within sight. For now, at least, they seemed to be ignoring him and his group, despite their light globes. Tapping the tanks on their shoulders, he motioned for everyone to move back. The moment they were back fifty feet or so down the hallway, he gave the healer a significant look, telling them to call it in. With a nod, they got on the radio and reported the sighting with a loud whisper.

  It wasn’t long before a reply came back for them to hold their position or retreat if necessary, and wait for reinforcements. Three more raid groups from the tower were on their way.

  Deciding they were safe enough in the hallway, Goodrich hunkered down and watched. They’d left their light globes in the room, since they didn’t seem to bother the passing zombies. As quietly as he could he whispered to the rest. “Grab a seat, and try to count them as they pass.”

  *****

  Up on the northeastern section of the Invictus City wall, Allistor’s people were still easily handling the mobs trying to climb the walls. They were happily dropping Flame Shot spells in columns down upon the undead as they began to pile up at the base of the wall. Those who had received the new scrolls from Ramon were experimenting with the AoE spell. Bjurstrom was amusing himself by casting the Repel Undead spell at the base of a pile of zombies. Those influenced by the light magic wailed in distress and did their best to flee the area, taking damage until they did. This had the result of destabilizing the pile, causing the zombies higher up to tumble and fall, landing in the spells area of effect and mimicking their cohorts. The spell had a twenty foot radius, and lasted for five minutes, with a ten minute cooldown. For most of those who were using it, that was more than en
ough time to recover the mana cost of the spell. Meaning they could refresh it indefinitely without running out of mana.

  Still, those with the spell were spread wide apart, and after a while the enemy adepts began avoiding the places where the spells were being dropped, guiding their minions in between. The defenders noticed, and simply adjusted their positions atop the wall, casting the AoE onto new piles of attackers. Few of the zombies actually died from the light damage, mostly the ones trapped too deeply under the pile to escape. But the spell was an effective way to break up the growing piles of undead trying to climb the walls.

  Wanting to experiment himself, Allistor had the girls stand behind him and sing a tune that would buff his magic. When he cast the spell himself, there was a drastic difference. For one, the area of effect was maybe fifty percent wider, covering an entire pile just below him. And from the wailing that it caused, the light magic damage per second was more severe as well. As the teenagers continued to sing, Allistor watched zombie after zombie expire before they could shuffle out of the spell’s damage zone.

  For over an hour his people cast Repel Undead, Flame Shot, Mind Spike, and Vortex down upon the unending waves of undead invaders. They often combined the spells to great effect. Vortex cast upon a group of burning mobs created a tornado of flaming zombies that smashed against the wall, and against each other, breaking them into flaming zombie bits. Those were hurled in a wide spray outward from the wall, doing impact and flame damage to approaching mobs.

  The near constant use of the spells allowed his people to increase their spell skill levels, especially with the new Repel Undead. By the end of the hour Allistor had raised his own to level three. Each level widened the area of effect and increased the damage per second.

  There was still no end in sight when Allistor heard the report from Goodrich’s group. He was tempted to abandon the wall and join them, but stayed where he was. They had planned for this tactic after Kyle’s attack on the Outpost in Laramie, and he had faith that his people would deal with the underground intruders who were already inside his walls. His one concession to fear was to order Prime to send a hundred droids down to assist the raiders.