Stone Raiders' Return (Emerilia Book 6)

by Michael Chatfield

  “We have had reports of them in Verlun and Emaren. It seems a Lord Esamael of Emaren and his allies are trying to overthrow the king of Gudalo.”

  “Verlun, the city where they have some traders and they bought their own teleport pad?” The queen sipped fruit juice.

  “Yes, my queen. It seems that they arrived as an army was attacking their guild hall,” the messenger said.

  The queen’s eyes thinned as she put her drink down on the table. “What happened?”

  “The battle for Gudalo is still ongoing it seems, but the Stone Raiders are sharing the battle with every Player by streaming it. They had a force of just a thousand Players. The army numbers nearly three hundred thousand. A fortress rose from the ground around the guild hall, walls that might be seen around our own palace.” The messenger looked to the queen.

  “Continue.” She waved her hand, a tight feeling in her chest. Just what did Magistrate Houn piss off?

  “Their allies followed them. Demons, Beast Kin, and Aleph of legend brought their automatons. They came to the call of the Stone Raiders, close allies. Other kingdoms and cities sent forces to show their support. The Dwarves sent several Warclans; Elves sent their rangers. Still, the Stone Raiders rampaged through the ranks of the attacking army,” the messenger said.

  The queen didn’t say anything. Her hand came to rest on the table as she slowly looked over the capital she had grown up in, the kingdom that she had grown like her own child. She had not the time for marriage nor child in her younger years.

  We pissed off giants. What will they do once they have defended their home? Will they be sated and let old issues lie, or will they move to make an example of any who might dare to oppose them? I think that the council and treasurer might reconsider their hesitation to stop paying the Stone Raiders.

  “What happened at Emaren?” she asked.

  “They came through the teleport pad like a group of wraiths, took out the Mana barrier and the walls, and fled again. We don’t know where to,” the messenger said.

  “Find out where they went and see if one of the Players would be willing to share information with us for some gold. I want to know what happens.” The queen continued to look out over her capital.

  “Yes, my queen.” The messenger bowed. The queen waved in their direction. The messenger hurried off to his errands.

  Chapter 26: Return of the Stone Raiders

  Malsour raised his head to the sounds of battle on the staircase. He shook his neck and stretched out as much as the magical formation would let him. He couldn’t even be at his full length within the massive magical formation.

  “Good to see you’re back to full Mana.” Dave continued to go through the various interconnected Magical Circuits.

  “So, what am I changing?” Malsour asked, feeling much better.

  “Sending it to you now.” Dave stuck his head in another room while he accessed his interface and sent the information to Malsour.

  “Got it.” Malsour read the new formations and circuits. As he read, the components of the circuits started to rise out of the ground; metal and stone floated in the air, forming and changing, being moved around before they came back together and slid back into the ground with ease.

  “I missed my Dragon form,” Malsour said. It felt as though a weight had been lifted from him as his familiar magic reacted to his very thoughts.

  “I can see.” Dave looked at several circuits that were changing at the same time as Malsour seemed to read the message Dave had sent.

  “I sent you all of the changes.” Dave stepped out of the formation.

  “Hmm, is this a drain, and then a convert...wait, am I understanding this right?” Malsour lifted his head and looked to Dave, his large split eyes following Dave.

  “Yup! Who said to fix the thing when you can make it better!” Dave declared with a grin.

  “I don’t think that King Sigaird is going to think the same,” Malsour said dryly.

  “He will if we save his ass,” Dave said. “And Josh already gave me the go-ahead.”

  Malsour shrugged as the last of the interconnecting circuits came together and slotted into their positions. “Well, let’s see if this works.” Malsour shook himself as he started to become smaller. He walked to the edge of the formation, toward the stairs. Behind him, the main Magical Circuit started to pull itself apart, flying into the air as the different materials moved around and formed into new combinations.

  His body finished its transformation as he stepped off the Magical Circuit and the main magical circle settled back into position.

  Malsour felt empowered as buffs fell over him. “Not as good as being in my other form, but it will work.”

  “It’ll work, he says,” Dave muttered, shaking his head, as he moved to where the rest of the party fought their way up the stairs.

  ***

  “Looks like Esamael’s army is making a move,” a scout reported.

  “Agreed,” another said from another direction.

  The Stone Raiders had rushed forward. They had been fast and brutal, killing anyone who might raise an alarm before moving into positions around Esamael’s army. They’d hidden in various houses, keeping a watch out for any movements by Esamael or Sigaird.

  Josh had been about to charge in when Dave contacted him with a plan.

  “That man has a damn plan for everything, it seems,” Josh muttered.

  He let out a breath as newfound strength seemed to flood him. Agility and Strength buffs activated on everyone who wore a guild amulet.

  “Once they engage the royal palace’s forces, we’ll attack. Wait for my signal,” Josh said, playing with his daggers.

  “You go blind if you play with them that much,” Cassie chastised.

  “How is that even possible?” Josh grumbled.

  Cassie smiled and looked back out of the window they were sharing.

  ***

  There was little that Deia needed to do. Steve, Gurren, and Lox were many levels above the forces they were fighting. In the restricting corridors, they were fighting only four or five enemies at a time. In a nearly one-on-one fight, they were tearing Esamael’s soldiers apart.

  “That’s the last of the soldiers in the stairwell. They’ve probably sent word to their commanders.” Suzy watched through her Air creations she was using as scouts. “I can see more of Esamael’s soldiers headed toward us.”

  Deia rolled her shoulders. Her body felt as if she had just gone through a dozen levels of inputting stat points into Agility and Strength.

  “All done down here! Let’s go join the fight!” Dave said, Malsour trailing behind him.

  “Excuse me, Steve,” Anna said.

  Steve slammed his shield forward, throwing men back. “After you.” Steve waved her forward.

  She gripped her sword with one hand, moving into the position Steve had vacated. For one second, it seemed that she was holding her sheathed sword. The next, it was by her opposite hip.

  A blade of Air lashed out, cleaving through armor and people alike, leaving just a few soldiers behind.

  Before they had a chance to run, Steve sent Mana spearheads into them.

  Gurren and Lox finished off their attackers.

  “Dude, watch your aim next time,” Gurren complained, looking at his gore-covered shield. “Going to take hours to clean this off.”

  “Whoops, sorry. Didn’t think it would be such an explosive finish.” Steve shrugged.

  “Dude, that’s gross,” Dave said.

  “I’m surrounded by pubescent boys in the shape of men.” Deia rubbed the bridge of her nose.

  “Hey! I meant it as a pun!” Steve said.

  “Yeah, the number of puns you made was the problem!” Suzy said.

  “How about we leave the puns till later and we get out of here?” Deia suggested.

  “Agreed.” Lox moved through the soldiers who had been blocking their path moments before. The rest followed.

  “I’ll take that and that and that,
” Steve said as he went along, adding loot to his inventory. “All aboard the loot train!” Steve said, rapid-fire accessing the loot tombstones.

  “Just another Sunday,” Lox said.

  “It’s Tuesday, isn’t it?” Dave asked.

  “Doesn’t really matter with him.” Suzy pointed her thumb over her shoulder.

  The ground rumbled as they got to the top of the stairs.

  Deia looked back, finding a rune-carved door.

  “Don’t want people messing up my work,” Malsour said.

  Deia nodded and checked her map. “Okay, the guild hasn’t attacked yet. Let’s get over to them and see if we can get in on that action.

  “Induca, Anna, Suzy, and I will watch above. Lox, if we’re broken up, you’re in charge.” Deia rose into the air, Induca and Anna with her.

  She ran from roof to roof, equipping her bow. She checked it, pulling an arrow from its quiver, ready for anything that might try to stop them.

  ***

  A hungry look passed over Esamael’s face as his army let out their war cry. It was louder than the random spells that landed among their formations.

  As one, they surged forward, charging up toward the royal palace from every direction. The palace was a series of castles that overlooked the city. On three sides, the hundred-meter tall and smooth castle walls melded into the natural bedrock that they were built on. A slope led up to the entrance of the wall around the castle, crossing a large gorge.

  Although it would have been an impressive castle on Earth, this was Emerilia, a land of magic. Scaling ladders could grow to be hundreds of meters tall; mages could call up pillars of earth to push them over the wall.

  Esamael’s people rushed forward, mages using every way they knew to gain entry into the castle.

  The palace fought back: defensive runes, magical traps, and spells being unleashed against the oncoming army. Spells lit up the Mana barrier covering the royal palace.

  The battle for Haugr and who would be the king of Gudalo had begun.

  “Lord Esamael, there was an issue with the city rune,” an aide said, staying out of hitting range.

  “WHAT?” Esamael demanded, focusing his ire on the aide who paled, sweating under the pressure of Esamael’s aura.

  “The city rune—a group of people got into it and then sealed it up. Our forces were killed off,” the aide said.

  “We’re also getting reports that roving patrols have been killed across Haugr,” a general said, listening to something as his face paled. “The teleport pad’s guards were killed off. None of them were able to raise the alarm.”

  “Emaren has fallen. The southern army gained access to the city. It looks like someone exited the teleport pad there, broke the walls and Mana barriers,” another aide said.

  “Why are we only learning this now?” Esamael demanded.

  “It seems to have all happened within the last twenty minutes. Our people didn’t realize how bad things were in Emaren until the southern army started cutting them down in the streets,” a general said.

  “Who the hell—” Esamael heard a noise in the background.

  Moments later, it was followed by hundreds of other voices. Esamael could barely make out what they were saying.

  “Stone Raiders!”

  “Sir! We have groups of Players advancing from all directions into the rear of our army’s formation,” a general yelled.

  “Kill them! Kill them all!” Esamael yelled, pointing at the general. Rage contorted his features as spittle flew from his lips.

  ***

  “My king, whatever Esamael’s troops did with the city rune, it seems to have been reverted. All of the guards and forces loyal to the crown have regained their lost strength and buffs,” an aide said to King Sigaird as he looked down at the forces attacking from every direction.

  “Good. It’s about time we had something go our way.” Sigaird tapped the hilt of his sword.

  He wanted to be down with his people, fighting off Esamael’s army. Doing so would leave him open to attack. After all, if they killed Sigaird, then there would be no one left to claim the throne.

  He heard yells as people ran out of the houses they had been hiding in. They didn’t even try to break Esamael’s mobile barriers.

  “Shit, they’re going to get themselves killed,” Sigaird muttered, proud that his people would join the fight but knowing it would lead to their deaths.

  Their front line met Esamael’s and ran through it.

  Sigaird’s hand stopped tapping his sword as he watched in shock. Over the noises of battle, Sigaird could hear the group’s battle cry.

  “Stone Raiders!”

  Just what kind of Demons are they? They’re cutting through Esamael’s people as if they’re nothing more than level 10 mobs.

  ***

  Dave didn’t stop running as he and Party Zero left the cover of the streets around the royal palace, following the rest of their guild that had rushed to meet Esamael’s army.

  He activated the second part of the city rune. Esamael’s people had been working to get the city rune to buff their people, meaning that all of their soldiers were wearing an identifying artifact imbued with a specific Mana signature. They’d already input this Mana signature into the Magical Circuits. Dave copied the signature, but instead of applying a buff, now their artifacts would weaken them, reducing their Intelligence and Strength.

  Deia, Induca, Malsour, and Anna worked to cancel any incoming spells and ranged attacks. Suzy threw out pre-made creations; as they fell, they became active. Quickly, there was a small army running with Party Zero or flying around them.

  Dave and Steve were firing Mana bolts from their hands. In no time, they were under a mobile Mana barrier.

  Lox and Gurren worked in concert with each other, carving a path through the soldiers.

  There was no time for the soldiers to recover as the mages unleashed their ranged attacks, killing anyone in the vicinity with their spells.

  The barrier fell and the minion army rushed in to kill anyone left.

  “Move forward!” Deia yelled.

  “We got their grand workings! Keep it up!” Josh said over the guild-wide chat.

  Dave breathed a sigh of relief; those grand workings could shift a battle quickly. He didn’t want to know what Esamael had saved up just in case he needed it.

  Grenades appeared around Dave; soul gems fed them power before he threw them through Mana barriers and they detonated.

  He turned, using the edge he’d added to his shield, and opened a soldier’s neck. He danced under a blade, his own flashing out and cutting the inside of the soldier’s legs and then up and across their neck.

  Conjured spears took four other soldiers down. The spears disappeared as arrows flew over Dave, taking down several soldiers at the same time. Steve waded into the battle, his axe opening armor and breaking bodies with his massive swings. As he wielded his axe, he fired spearheads from his opposite hand.

  Induca turned into a fiery tornado tearing through ranks before cancelling the spell. As she walked into a new barrier group, fiery whips melted through metal as if it wasn’t even there.

  Anna wasn’t hiding her skills anymore. The weakened soldiers were nothing in the face of her sword. She created a wall of Air blades that cut apart anything that made its way into her path.

  Malsour cast hexes and curses; people fell down, writhing in pain where his spells landed.

  Dave closed his eyes. Soul gems floated around him, gathering the wealth of souls that filled the air. Mana streams exploded from the soul gems around Dave, burning out barrier after barrier and opening Esamael’s forces up to magical attacks.

  Dave looked around the battlefield. It had devolved into chaos with Esamael’s soldiers trying to advance into the royal palace while also trying to fight off the Stone Raiders and getting debuffed at the same time.

  The Stone Raiders had turned the formations into a mess, carving their way through. Killing the soldiers was easy.
Most of the guild was just using it as an experience farm. They were figuring out the least amount of effort they had to put into getting the most amount of kills. Without the insane buffs and grand workings, Esamael’s army weren’t even that hard to deal with. There was an issue with them swarming the Stone Raiders, but one powerful spell was good enough to blast open enough room for them to get organized and continue the slaughter.

  Lox and Gurren switched to their destruction staffs as the barriers failed. Fuel air bomb explosions detonated against the massive walls of the royal palace, using the walls to direct the blast, killing hundreds with every explosion.

  Anna’s wind blades cut through tens of people at the same time, no longer blocked by Mana barriers.

  It wasn’t a battle—it was a slaughter.

  Sixty thousand were dead or dying within minutes of the Stone Raiders taking to the field. The royal palace, seeing their enemies fall, were emboldened by their actions, casting spells and using their ranged attacks.

  It just added to the body count. Without their mobile barriers, Esamael’s soldiers were open to all manner of attacks.

  Spells that had been broken on the barriers now washed through the attacker’s ranks. Panic quickly started to set in. Here and there, formations were falling apart.

  Dave conjured bombs as big as Steve, dropping them from the sky like a bomber might. Soul gems reached out, powering them as they slammed into the ground. The bombs went off, flattening everything in a few hundred meters and tossing many others farther away.

  “Get into a circle and use ranged attacks,” Deia called.

  Party Zero paused their advance, grouping together as they formed a circle, everyone getting a sector as their ranged attacks flared out.

  Soldiers were in a panic. Magical destruction was all around and they were now trapped against the royal palace.

  At first, a few people started to run out into the city, away from the battle. More and more soldiers tried to flee, many getting cut down in their attempts.