I shook my head. “The ones we cleared still have power in them. It’ll probably take them a day or so to reset and summon new demons. This pool is just … empty. Like something sucked all the power out of it.”
Hoshisu pursed her lips. “Something like a powerful demon boss, perhaps?”
Remembering my vision, I tried not to swallow hard. “Perhaps.”
“Figures.” She rolled her eyes “So next is the pit? The Greater Pyrolith Guardian is waiting.”
“About that,” Malkyr interjected, “I have a request.”
We both looked at him questioningly.
“I want you to stand aside and let me handle this thing on my own.”
I raised my brow. “Why? That thing was level 32. You’re level 26; you might win, but you won’t escape unharmed. Why chance it?”
He winked at me. “I have my reasons.”
We reached the open pit and the rest of us stood back, letting Malkyr approach it on his own.
Gripping his axe tightly with both hands, the man moved forward carefully. As soon as he reached the edge of the pit, the same large Pyrolith slithered out. The demon’s serpentine body was twice as long as Malkyr was tall. The creature opened its mouth, launching a bead of fire at Malkyr. The man was ready for it and snatched the bead with his gauntleted hand before it could explode into a fireball. Reacting to the energy absorbed, his axe glowed bright orange, emphasizing the blackened runes that covered its length.
Malkyr stepped forward, putting his weight into his swing. The buzzing weapon bit deeply into the monster’s body. The demon screamed and launched a firebolt from each hand simultaneously. Moving nimbly, Malkyr intercepted both fiery bolts, channeling their power into his axe. Then, holding the weapon with both hands to increase its power, he gave an overhead chop, taking out another sizeable chunk of the demon’s health, bringing him down to 60 percent.
The demon, obviously more intelligent than the lesser versions we’d fought before, stopped casting spells. Instead, its long body snapped forward, coils wrapping around the big man, holding him tightly.
Malkyr was in trouble. With both arms pinned against his body, he was barely able to move, let alone swing his axe. As we watched, the demon squeezed. Malkyr’s health bar begun to plummet. I drew in my mana and started overcharging my drilling arrows. A hand on my shoulder gave me pause. Hoshisu. She didn’t say anything, just shook her head.
“But he’ll die!” I protested.
She shrugged as if saying, ‘It’s his own choice.’
Gritting my teeth, I let the spell dissipate.
Malkyr’s muscles bulged as he strained against his much larger opponent, his neck veins literally popping up as he gave a savage roar. With an impressive display of physical prowess, he managed to release both arms from the pin. His axe, however, was still trapped within the embracing coils, out of his reach. The demon opened its jaws wide enough to swallow Malkyr’s head and snapped forward. Malkyr’s arms flew up, catching a jaw in each hand. They fought against each other, brute strength versus brute strength, and for a long moment, neither one managed to gain the upper hand. Then Malkyr gave a boyish grin. Both his arms began glowing, similar to his axe’s special attack. The glow seemed to repel the air around them. With an explosive force, he spread his arms wide, tearing the demon’s head in half.
The coils loosened and slumped to the floor, leaving Malkyr standing bruised, but alive. He’d won. The axe on the ground suddenly gleamed and hovered in the air in front of him. Malkyr grabbed the hilt and an overwhelmingly powerful orange light exploded out of it, illuminating the entirety of the dark hall.
“What was that?” I demanded.
“Oh, that?” He waved a hand dismissively. “I just completed a unique quest.”
I exchanged a glance with Hoshisu. “Eh?”
He shrugged. “It’s simple, man. When I grabbed the enchanted axe for the first time, I received a quest called ‘One with the Roaring Inferno.’ To complete it, I had to single-handedly defeat a strong, fire-based opponent within six hours. According to the quest, if I managed that, the axe would bond with me. It’s now a soulbound item. It can hold more charges than before, and it even grants me a kickass new ability.”
“Axe so nice!” Bek said, of all people.
Malkyr looked with surprise at the tiny goblin, then grinned and nodded. “Yep, it sure is.”
I looked around, not seeing any other demons coming. “Looks like our plan worked. Shall we go down the pit?”
“Oh, about that …” Malkyr answered slowly. “I happened to look down there during the fight and … well …”
“Spit it out already,” Hoshisu said.
“It’s just … you wouldn’t believe how deep it goes.”
“Damn!” I muttered. Just what I need, another complication.
We approached the pit and looked down. It led to a seemingly undamaged subfloor only about four meters down.
Malkyr chuckled. “Told you you wouldn’t believe how deep it goes.”
“Let’s go.” Hoshisu walked over to the pit edge and jumped inside. She landed lightly on her feet and looked around. “All clear.”
I held Bek back, handing him Guba’s special brew potions. “Here, drink these.”
If the first level was any indication, we were going to be facing tough battles. Little Bek was invaluable, thanks to his healing spell, but he was the most vulnerable of us. Guba’s potions would increase maximum HP by ten. For me, it was a drop in the bucket, but for him, it would be an increase of nearly 20 percent.
After the goblin chugged the two potions, I teleported down, coming out of the shadows next to Hoshisu. Since neither Bek nor Malkyr were especially light on their feet, I assembled shadows into a thick pillow-like substance to cushion their jump. “Come on, I’ve got you.”
Once we were all safely down, I took a better look around. We were standing in the middle of a long and wide corridor with the ceiling three meters above us and many doors along both sides. The lower levels of the fort had fared much better than the upper ones.
Everyone stood still, studying their surroundings. In the quiet darkness, faint, distant sounds reached us.
I recognized the sounds instantly. I had a lot of firsthand experience making such noises. They were the shrieks and howls of someone being tortured.
13 – Racial Tensions
I sacrificed the Pyrolith I had been dominating, adding its void crystal to my growing collection.
We had decided not to bring the demon along. Having it turn against us at the wrong moment was not worth the risk. Instead, I cast Shadow Hound. Our previous skirmishes had been great training. At level 20, the spell was now significantly more powerful, allowing me to summon four minions instead of three, all at level 12. On the other hand, it now cost 200 mana, almost 20 percent of my total. It was a whopping amount for a combat spell.
The mastiffs emerged from the shadows and obediently followed at my heels.
We started walking down the corridor cautiously, the siblings leading the way.
The howling and shrieking grew louder. Soon, we found ourselves standing in front of a studded metal door. The noises were coming from the other side.
Hoshisu examined the door for traps then gave us the thumbs up.
“Ready?” Malkyr said softly, his hand on the handle.
I raised one finger, then activated my Mana Shield. There was plenty of room in the hallway so I didn’t risk hindering anyone with the wide bubble. I proceeded by conjuring a trio of drilling arrows and empowering them. Once they were at the max, I nodded to the man.
Malkyr opened the door and took a few cautious steps inside. It looked like an old, large kitchen. A rotten dining table stood in the corner and several smashed tables littered the floor.
Everything looked pretty
much like what could be expected of an abandoned kitchen. Everything, except a small, childlike creature sitting with its back to us. The shrieking and howling were coming from him. Sprawled around the creature were the slumped bodies of three seemingly dead Ogres.
“Okay,” Malkyr whispered. “So we all know it’s a trap; that’s not a child but some gruesome monster and the dead Ogres are zombies. I say we skip the part where we cautiously investigate and get jumped on, and instead preempt the shit out of them.”
I tried to use Analyze on the perching figure, but to my surprise, discovered that I could not. It was the first time my skill had failed to activate. Nor could I detect any information threads emanating from it. It was like the creature wasn’t even there, just some faint threads of localized noise. Yep, definitely a trap.
“Agreed,” I whispered back. “So we attack in three … two … one – now!”
I launched my arrows at the perching figure while Bek targeted it with Mana Drain. Hoshisu threw daggers and Malkyr struck his orange-glowing axe at the closest of the fallen Ogres, splitting its head neatly in half.
As our combined attacks hit the shrieking figure, it dissipated into puffs of mist, finally ending the howls. The mist drifted over to the three bodies and seeped into them.
The three zombies began to rise. I could sense the information streams from them now, indicating they were possessed.
The zombie Malkyr had hit, its health bar now down by a quarter, didn’t look bothered by its grotesquely split head. I directed my mastiffs to attack it, then launched drilling arrows at the one facing Malkyr. Hoshisu threw her gremlin-made saw chain at the third. The chain buzzed and rotated as it sliced into the creature’s torso.
This time, we were well-prepared for the fight. My four mastiffs tore their target apart, while Malkyr disarmed his opponent, literally. Hoshisu’s zombie was sawn in half. His upper and lower torso thrashed trying to get to her. With a few extra barrages of drilling arrows and a finishing blow from my dagger, the three soon stopped moving. An easy win.
The zombies dropped some gold, three potions, and a bar of violet metal. We all exchanged contented grins at the leftover piles of loot.
Potion of Ogre Might
Description: The drinker receives the hereditary toughness of an Ogre for a short duration.
Type: Potion
Effect: +4 Physical, +50% carry capacity, +50% physical damage bonus.
Viridium Ingot
Description: A bar of metal infused with spiritual energies. Items forged from Viridium carry enchantments more easily and have increased effectiveness.
Type: Component
“Awesome! I want it all,” Malkyr blurted out exuberantly.
“Take the potions and the gold,” I said. “But I’d like to keep the metal.”
His face fell. “But I’m a smith; working with a brand-new metal would surely raise my skill.”
I wasn’t about to waive my claim. I just gifted him a magic set that was worth a small treasure. Still, he had a point. “How about this?” I suggested. “I’ll loan it to you. You can practice your craft by making something for me. That way, you still get to train your skill.”
“And you get an item crafted for free. Smart,” Hoshisu said with a faint smile.
“Yep.” I smiled back at her, then looked pointedly at her brother.
“And I get to keep the gold and potions?”
I nodded. It was of little use to me anyway.
“You got yourself a deal.”
He took the potions, handing one to his sister.
Before we left the room, I recharged the depleted saw chain, making it ready for another single use. I handed it back to Hoshisu, who gave me a slight nod as thanks.
We went back to the hallway and continued walking. It was now thankfully silent.
Hoshisu suddenly held up one hand, and we all stopped in our tracks.
She advanced a few steps, moving lightly, then bent down. She brushed something invisible off the floor and pressed down with her hand. An audible click sounded and a single dart flashed from the wall on our left, barely an inch above the floor.
“Dart trap. Very crude, not even poisonous.” She wrinkled her nose. “Let’s go.”
After a short walk, we reached another door. This one was made entirely of dark, reinforced steel. Hoshisu checked it for traps, and finding none, opened the door. This was a workshop of some kind. As in the previous room, most of the equipment was damaged beyond recognition. But a quick search of the room yielded a few nice surprises.
Fishing Kit
Description: Hooks, lines, and lures; everything an aspiring fisherman could hope for!
Type: Tool
Rank: Average
Cool! I thought happily. That should help increase my fishermen’s yield. The second one I had summoned was still using an improvised piece of equipment crafted by the clan’s smith.
“Hey, what’s this?” Malkyr nudged a heavy piece of metal. “Looks broken.”
I looked at the item. It used to be a heavy plow. Malkyr was right, it was broken. What a strange thing to find at the lower level of an Ogre’s base.
“It’s just part of the scenery, gives this place a bit more authenticity,” Hoshisu said. “You can’t really do anything with –”
She paused mid-sentence, staring at me.
“What?” I looked back at her. The plow turned easily on its axis as I lifted the handle to check if it was still in one piece.
“You’re not supposed to be able to do that.” Her eyes narrowed.
I shrugged. “I try not to let others dictate to me what I can or can’t do.” I let go of the plow with regret. There was no way I could bring it with me. The piece of equipment weighed a hundred kilograms at least. Pity, it could have been just what my farmers needed to be able to work the land.
We continued scouting the rooms along the corridor, but all were deserted with no signs of demons or zombies.
At the hallway’s end, a large two-door gate barred our entrance. Two Ogres could have easily walked side by side through it.
“I’ll take a look,” Hoshisu whispered, already moving toward the doors.
We stood back, watching her as she tiptoed forward and silently opened a crack in one of the massive gates. We held our breath as she peeked in, taking in the view for a long moment before edging back over to us.
“There’s a large chamber over there,” she informed us, still whispering. “There are five Ogre zombies standing about ten meters beyond the door and they have two Pyroliths with them – the big kind, like the one that guarded the pit. There might be more; it’s pretty dark so I couldn’t see very well.”
Malkyr brightened up. “Five lumbering kindling and two walking fuel sources? Awesome!”
Vic sighed inside my head.
Malkyr took a step toward the door but I stopped him, putting a hand on his shoulder, which I barely reached. “Hold on a sec. That’s a few too many enemies for us to simply charge in.”
Hoshisu nodded. “I agree with the little guy. Besides …” Her eyes became distant. “There was something weird about one of the zombies. It had … lumps … all over its body. I’m guessing he’ll throw something nasty at us if we just barge in.”
“Let me take a look,” I said, facing the door.
“You?” Hoshisu sneered. “You’re a specialized mage, you can’t sneak worth a damn. You’ll give away our presence.”
“Oh, am I?” I winked at her, then turned around and tiptoed toward the door, making even less noise than she did, gently bending the shadows around me to obscure my body.
Looking through the crack, I saw two level 32 Greater Pyrolith standing behind a line of Ogre zombies. They were all facing the doors, but none had noticed me. I could easily sense that four of the zombies were ‘normal’ ones, albeit at level 17 they were stronger than those we fought
earlier. The zombie in the middle was definitely different. I analyzed it.
Mature Possessed Ogre Zombie
Level: 4
HP: 60
Attributes: P: 6, M: -, S: -
Skills: Powerful 16
Traits: Ogre, Undead, Possessed [mature]Resistances: Mental 100%, Magic 30%, Armor 12
Description: A Zombie feels no pain and knows no fear. This specimen has been possessed for so long its body has started breaking down.
Just as Hoshisu had said, it had lumps all over its body. With my Darkvision, I could easily see the bulges pulsating. It was disturbingly familiar to the Alien movies, when the unborn aliens thrashed inside their host’s body, trying to burst out. Unlike those movies though, the zombie seemed oblivious to its state, standing passively between its buddies.
The chamber stretched on for a dozen more meters beyond the line of enemies. A stack of half-rotten boxes blocked most of the rest of the room, but I caught a glimpse of something metallic behind them.
I sneaked back to my party, making no noise.
Hoshisu glared at me. “How did you do that?”
I winked at her. “Goblins get the Sneak skill as a free built-in feature, just a point off Expert rank.”
“What?” she fumed, struggling to keep her voice down. “I’ve been grinding my stealth skills for days and I’m only on level 31!”
My smile grew. “I told you before, once you go goblin …”
Malkyr looked between us. “So like, what do we do now? Charge in after all?”
I shook my head. “The strange zombie at the center looks like it’s about to fall apart any moment. It only has 60 hit points. I’m betting something nastier will come out when that happens.”
Hoshisu narrowed her eyes at me while her brother simply said, “Okay … so what do we do?”
I rubbed my chin. “Barging in is not a good idea. There are too many enemies for you to tank on your own. We need to find a spot with a defensible choke point, then we can decide how to handle the rest of the fight.”
“Why not just hold them at one of the doors?” Hoshisu said, still sounding a bit irritated.
“Because they’re too strong. The Ogres could just burst both doors open and we wouldn’t be able to hold such a wide gap.”
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