Defenders of the Realm

by Dave Willmarth

  The others passed the time in different ways. Brick and Grimble examined the large dent in Grimble’s shield from the demon’s axe. They determined it was still usable, as there were no cracks. Brick then asked Max if he could examine the overlord’s axe. When Max produced it, it instantly fell to the ground with a thud. The half-elf didn’t have near the strength to hold it.

  Even Brick’s considerable dwarven strength only allowed him to lift it for an examination. There was no way he could wield it. The handle was as long as Brick himself, and four inches thick. The blades were each a full yard of curved steel from tip to tip. With solid steel spikes at both ends of the handle, Brick estimated it weighed close to a hundred and fifty pounds. “I be thinkin’ this be a good weapon fer Lugs.”

  Grimble observed, touching the axe and closing his eyes. “It be of drow manufacture. Rare quality. The ogre could cut through stone pillars with this.”

  Lainey arrived shortly and claimed her gear from Max. Once she was settled, the party began their descent. Brick took the lead with Grimble in the rear to protect against any ambush.

  The ledge wound downward at a steep angle and they’d only gone a half turn around the pit when they reached the next level. A tunnel led off into the darkness. Assuming that anything living (or undead) down here had heard the battle with Drug’thol and was alerted to their presence, they didn’t concern themselves with stealth. Alexander sent a light globe ahead of them into the dark tunnel. It showed them rough-hewn walls and an equally uneven floor.

  “This be kobold work. No self-respectin’ dwarf’d leave such a mess.” Grimble grumbled.

  “There must be more of them down here. That group we met wouldn’t have lived long enough to do all this in the condition they’re in.” Sasha added. They all tightened their grip on weapons and shields and moved forward. Max walked directly behind Brick, keeping an eye out for traps. Alexander scanned the earth below the tunnel and found no obvious pitfalls or voids.

  Brick spotted their next enemy before the light globe reached them. With Mage Sight active, he was able to see the inherent magic in the demons charging toward them. “Incomin!” he called out, crouching low and preparing to execute a Shield Rush. “Four demons.”

  Alexander could see them too. Three carried blades, one a staff. The three were taller and bulkier than the 4th. Warriors escorting a caster of some kind. He pushed the light globe forward so the others had a better view. “Watch out, there’s a caster in the back. Good chance it has the same dark magic.”

  Grimble called out “Close off our rear. Lemme move up front.” Alexander obliged, raising a stone wall to block the tunnel behind them as Grimble moved forward to set his shield next to Brick’s. In the confines of the tunnel, the two of them very nearly blocked the whole space from wall to wall. Max and Lainey began to fire arrows down the shaft toward the oncoming demons. Max whispered, “focus on the caster”.

  Lainey just snorted and said “Duh.”

  Alexander smiled. His noob companion was becoming a hardened veteran. He threw a Ray of Light spell at the caster just for fun. The demon was briefly highlighted as the beam struck it in the chest. It was a female, dressed in black robes with red lightning patterns on it. She had small horns on the top of her head, and a mouthful of very sharp teeth. A tail thrashed about as she screamed in pain, the sharpened spike at the end scratching against the stone wall. She held a staff in her right hand, the end capped with what appeared to be the shrunken head of an imp.

  As expected, she lowered her staff and began to chant loudly. Lainey hit her with a Stun arrow and interrupted her. Max put an arrow into her cheek, just missing her open mouth. Alexander couldn’t blame him, she was shaking violently from the effects of Lainey’s Stun.

  Brick cast Holy Smite on the nearest of the demon warriors, and it roared in rage, increasing its speed.

  Demon Protector

  Level 65

  Health 17,000/17,000

  Slightly higher level than most of the group, but not an elite of any kind. And not much xp in it for them. Alexander found himself smiling anyway. He was having fun. It felt so good to have his magic back and be able to participate.

  Brick seemed to agree. He began shouting love poetry at the enraged demon charging toward him. When they got within thirty feet, he nudged Grimble and said “3…2…1!” On one, both dwarves activated their Shield Rush ability in unison. They shot forward and met the charging demons about ten feet from their original positions. The lead demon was flung backward by the force of the impact, tripping up the other two. The caster was far enough behind that she remained standing, but now there was nothing between her and the ranged attackers.

  Lainey fired arrow after arrow from her demon bone bow, the blessed weapon now creating arrows of light magic that sizzled into the caster’s flesh. The demoness was trying to cast again, so Max fired a Multi-shot at her face, waiting unto the last second to divide the single arrow into five so that they all blasted into her head at once. The force knocked her back off her feet.

  With all four demons on the floor, Sasha cast both Thorn Trap and Trap Soul on each demon, and Alexander cast Wizard’s Fire. Brick moved right up to the pile and began pounding away with his light-blessed hammer. Grimble got as close as he could to the flames and hacked at them with his axe intermittently. One of the warrior demons was already dead, and the others were fading quickly.

  Max and Lainey both stepped forward to put precision shots into eyes and open mouths, or exposed throats and gaps in armor. The caster was the last to die when Jules appeared behind her and stabbed both daggers into her chest. She’d not managed to get off a single spell.

  Grimble, being a lower level than the rest of them, picked up a level from the fight. He grinned in appreciation. “This be more fun than I’ve had in decades!”

  Sasha cast a quick heal on Jules, who’d taken some burn damage when she stabbed the caster.

  Max looted the corpses and they moved on. The tunnel ended in another chamber, this one some sort of barracks. There were rows of beds along two of the walls, several weapons racks, and on the left side of the room were four long tables with benches. As Alexander pushed the light globe into the room, it erupted in a frenzy. At least a dozen of the guards and two more casters leapt to their feet when one of the guards shouted an alarm.

  Max chuckled “Nice noob pull, Alexander buddy.”

  Sasha rolled her eyes. “Okay here we go. Alexander, narrow the tunnel, now! No more than 2 or 3 at a time. Brick, Grimble, block the hole. This is going to be a long fight!”

  Alexander did as he was instructed. He raised a wall that blocked the left half of the tunnel from floor to ceiling. This left a space about five feet wide. He constructed a second wall at a 90-degree angle that extended back eight feet from the first. Now he effectively had a narrow tunnel five by eight for the demons to funnel themselves through. Lastly, on his own initiative he raised a section of the floor where Max and Lainey were standing so that they could shoot over the taller demon protectors and hit the casters in the back.

  Brick and Grimble set their shields at the end of the tunnel and waited for the demons to come to them. The first two arrived swinging swords in each hand. The two dwarves blocked the initial blows, then activated Shield Bash and knocked them backward. As per their usual procedure, Sasha activated Thorn Trap and Alexander cast Wizard’s Fire. The demons in the tunnel began to burn. Now it was just a matter of time. The two dwarves could hold that space indefinitely as the dps burned the demons down. Brick jumped as high as his stubby legs and heavy armor would allow, and caught sight of one of the casters. He hit it with Holy Smite before falling back to earth. Max actually set down his bow for a minute to golf clap. “Nice move, shortness!”

  Brick grumbled without turning around “I get yer shortness right here!” After a moment, realizing how that sounded, he added “Bah! Shut yer yap n shoot!” Max was laughing too hard to shoot just then.

  And he paid the price. He miss
ed an interrupt on one of the caster demons, and it managed to get off a black worm spell. As he was standing in a raised position, Max was the target. The spell slammed into him just as he straightened up and raised his bow. The worm hit him in the chest and began to eat at his sternum. He screamed and dove toward Alexander, who was already moving in his direction.

  Alexander placed his hand on the thing and cast his divine spell. The worm screeched and writhed in his hand for a moment, then crumbled into dust. There was a massive wound in Max’s chest, his ribs and sternum gnawed almost completely through. Alexander clamped his jaws to keep from being sick at the sight of his friend’s insides. Sasha cast her biggest heal, and Alexander cast one too. He watched, fascinated as the bones solidified and the flesh knitted over.

  Max, who had been saying very bad words during the ordeal, got back to his feet. He hopped back up onto the raised stone and began to rapid-fire arrow after arrow at the casters. Brick, who had been silent while his friend was down, barked a laugh. “Bwahaha! See what ye get when ye talks instead of shoots?!”

  Brick returned to bashing at the demons in front of him, and didn’t see the gesture Max sent his way.

  Enjoying himself immensely, Alexander stepped up with Max and Lainey and cast a few Ray of Light spells at the caster demons, followed by a Wizard’s Fire for each of them. These mobs, even a group this size, were not a big challenge for them. Between Sasha and Alexander, they cast Trap Soul on each demon before it died. Their collection of gems was going to grow considerably.

  The demons managed one surprise near the end of the fight. The protector demons had crowded themselves into the tunnel and mostly perished. The group had been working their way forward, stepping over the dead bodies and pushing back the few remaining warriors to get at the casters. Brick and Grimble were just stepping over a couple of them when another demon launched itself at Grimble. It tackled the dwarf while he had one foot in the air and knocked him back. The demon and dwarf rolled for a moment, then came to a stop with the demon on top. It was nearly dead, but managed to reach behind the dwarf’s shield and slam a wicked looking dagger into Grimble’s neck. Alexander drew his sword and beheaded the demon in a single move. It fell atop Grimble as the dwarf’s health plummeted to zero.

  Alexander shoved the corpse off of Grimble as the dwarf’s dragon pin kicked in. The Undying spell raised him to one hit point, then the built-in heal brought him up to about 20% health. Sasha was already casting heals on him.

  She moved to take a knee next to the dwarf and told Alexander “Get up there next to Brick. I got this.”

  Alexander pulled his shield from his inventory and stepped up next to Brick. He’d never been a ‘sword and board’ warrior, but he could hold his own against the few opponents they had left. Especially standing next to Brick. The dwarf kept all the aggro on himself. Alexander’s job was just to block his half of the space and stab at the demons with his sword.

  One of the casters managed another worm-bolt spell, again targeted at Max. Alexander saw it coming and raised his shield. He didn’t have the strength to stop it cold, but he did manage to deflect it enough that it passed over everyone’s head and slammed into the ceiling somewhere behind them.

  Sasha soon had Grimble back on his feet. Alexander was hesitant to let him return to his spot, as his dragon pin would no longer save him. But the dwarf shoved him aside and stalked forward, shield raised. Brick kept pace, and the two dwarves mowed through the remaining demon protectors.

  Two casters still stood at the doorway to the room. Max and Lainey had moved forward too, and were each peppering one with arrows. Max hit one with a silence arrow and switched to Lainey’s target. Brick hit the one they were shooting with Holy Smite, and Grimble charged toward it with axe raised. Before he reached the demon, Jules appeared behind it and stabbed it from behind. The tip of her dagger emerged from its chest as her second one sliced into its throat. A moment later she was hitting the last, still silenced caster with a flurry of dagger strikes in vital spots. She was like a whirlwind, stabbing throat, chest, kidney, neck, back, and then nearly slicing its head off. All in a period of about six seconds. The others just stood, mouths open. When Jules noticed them staring, she shrugged and blushed slightly. “New skill. I like it”

  Max gave her a fist bump, saying “Me too!” Then he proceeded to loot the corpses while Alexander reloaded Grimble’s dragon pin. That done, they explored the room. Max unlocked storage chests in the sleeping area while Brick and Grimble used their dwarven senses to search for hidden rooms or caches. Grimble reported on the mine’s contents. “Down here there be gold, though none close. Also better gems, mostly sapphires. This be a right decent mine.”

  Finished with the room, and not having found anything interesting, they returned up the shaft to the pit. Brick in the lead once again, they continued down. The next two levels were quickly cleared. They ran into two groups of about twenty kobolds each. These were no more inclined to fight than the first group. Sasha sent them up and out of the mine to wait. Upon hearing that their ‘master’ was dead, they readily complied.

  The group came across several pairs or trios of demons, but dispatched them quickly. That first room had contained most of the overlord’s minions, it seemed.

  At the very bottom of the pit was a wide chamber. This was where the pulsating red glow originated. There were no demons about, and the chamber was mostly empty. Toward the back wall was a pedestal, atop which sat one of the black portal globes like the one they’d found in Fibble’s dungeon. Alexander wasted no time pulling obsidian for Brick to shape into a box. They set it at the base of the pedestal, and Alexander used Levitate to lift it from its home and lower it into the box. Brick closed it and molded the stone so that it wouldn’t open again. Then stuck the thing in his bag.

  There were two other points of interest in the room. Max was examining a glowing red gemstone the size of a watermelon embedded in the center of a stone mosaic in the floor. The gem was pulsating as if it were the earth’s own beating heart. The other thing was a cage set in the corner nearest the back. The cage wasn’t large, maybe three paces wide and deep. Alexander’s Mage Sight showed him a figure sitting within the cage.

  “There’s something or someone inside that cage.” Alexander said out loud. The others all turned their heads. Brick nodded, but the others looked back and forth between the cage and Alexander with questioning faces. Sasha spoke first “I don’t see anything.”

  Alexander looked again. It seemed to be a humanoid, sitting legs crossed in the middle of the cage. “Right there in the middle. Sitting on the floor. You don’t see anything?”

  Sasha, Max, and the others all shook their heads. Alexander nodded to Brick, and the two of them began casting Mage Sight on each of their party members. Gasps and “oh”s came from several of them as they could suddenly make out the being in the cage.

  Alexander moved the light globe closer to the cage and turned off his own Mage Sight. The creature instantly disappeared from his vision. Restoring the spell, he stepped closer to the cage. “Hello there. My name is Alexander.”

  There was no reaction from the prisoner. It sat calmly, hands on its knees, eyes closed. With his closer vantage point, Alexander thought it must be a sentient being. Two arms, two legs, thin with a large head and vaguely humanoid face. Its skin was the grey of the surrounding stone, and it wore a simple black robe. But the way it sat, as if meditating, suggested intelligence. Alexander tried to Analyze it.

  Unknown

  Level: Unknown

  Health: Unknown

  “I can’t Analyze them. Either they’re very high level, or my skill is just too low.”

  Max stepped close to the cage and peered at the lock. “Should we open it?”

  Alexander shook his head. “This could be the overlord’s boss. Though it seems unlikely, being that it’s locked up. Let’s think about this.” He sat down, staring at the being in the cage. Max lost interest, and he and Grimble began searching the r
oom for any hidden doors.

  Jules plopped down next to Alexander. He smiled at her. “Pretty fancy knife work back there. If I wasn’t terrified of you when you offered to kill me, I certainly am now!”

  She rolled her eyes. “You should have been afraid of me from the first time I kissed you. I am a rogue, you know. I’m gonna steal your heart.”

  Alexander was staring at the prisoner, and didn’t see the expectant look on his elfess’s face. Or that it changed to one of pure joy when he answered, “That happened before you ever kissed me.”

  Jules began to hum happily as she cleaned and sharpened her blade. The tune was one Alexander thought he recognized from childhood, but couldn’t name. It didn’t matter, because his attention was quickly laser focused on the prisoner who had suddenly began to hum in counterpoint to Jules. She noticed too, and went silent. The moment she did, the prisoner opened its eyes. It spoke, but nobody understood the words. They were slow and deep, as if the earth itself was speaking.

  Alexander said “Jules, hum some more, please.” as he got up and stepped closer to the cage. She resumed her tune, and the being in the cage smiled. A moment later its deep voice began a wordless but beautiful accompaniment. It was as if a bassoon, a cello, and a bass drum had somehow all combined into one glorious voice. The entire party stood by, enthralled by the sound. Jules continued until she reached the end of her song, and both voices faded away. She had tears in her eyes. She wasn’t the only one.

  “Max, unlock the cage.” Alexander ordered. The half-elf didn’t hesitate. Nothing that created such beauty was going to be a dungeon boss. As Max stepped toward the lock, the being held up a hand and spoke again. Alexander shook his head. “I’m afraid we can’t understand you.”

  It cocked its head to one side, then waved a hand. Alexander felt magic settle over him, and from the looks on the others’ faces, it had touched them too. Then the being spoke.

  “Please, do not touch that lock. I am afraid it is beyond your skill. It is sealed with a powerful spell that few could overcome. Dark magic. Should you touch it, it would trigger defensive magic that would kill you.”