by Charles Dean
“Are we really going to get out of here?” Pelham asked. “Dave said we’re getting out of here tonight.”
“Yeah, but maybe not alive if you don’t eat well, get some rest and mentally prepare yourself,” Lee warned in a soft voice, holding a finger over his mouth and hoping that the universal sign for ‘shhh’ in his world carried over. “Dave has had a chance to warm back up to violence, but the rest of you haven’t. There’s a very good chance we might run into one or two people that will stop us on our way out.”
“But how are we even going to get out?” one of them asked, stuffing his face with bacon a moment later.
Lee felt bad not knowing their names. He knew that he should have learned them all the day before, but given his circumstances, he had gotten swept up and lost in the chaos of his own life. He wanted to address them personally, to give them specific orders, but he couldn’t. Instead, he was forced to just avoid using their names like they were estranged, drunken hookups whose names he couldn’t remember.
“That’s simple,” Lee answered. “We pray. Augustus has told me when to pray and how to pray and promised me that we would be granted freedom within a minute of doing so. But, for the moment, I’m going to need some privacy and quiet. I need to have a conversation with the big man about what we are going to do.” Lee moved to the corner of the room, removed a fist full of bacon from his inventory and munched on it as he received the pilfered goods from the golem. Finally, he added the ink to the metallic-covered rodent he had made earlier, activated Golem Sculpting and gave it life.
There were some spots on the mouse he had missed, but it all smoothed over during the animation process, spreading across the metallic surface. Perfect. Lee smiled down at his creation. The golems had served their purpose without the slightest issue, but this one would be capable of so much more. Its claws weren’t made from hardened clay, but razor-sharp metal instead. Its central cavity was larger, meaning fewer trips would be needed if it had to run back and forth while carrying something, and most importantly, it had a level of built-in stealth the other two didn’t during the night time thanks to its black coating. A large, solid, black object darting around wouldn’t be that stealthy during the day, but at night, the camouflage would be peerless. In fact, Lee was considering whether or not he should add different dyes to each of the mice so that they would have their own environments or conditions for perfect stealth--perhaps adding blue to one of them so it could sneak through the waters unnoticed or adding green to one so it could run through grass nigh invisibly.
With the third golem done, there was only one final thing for him to do: make the key to the whole plan. He had already used a golem to not only fetch and store plenty of pieces of paper but to also hunt down the locker area where the guards stored the extra keys between the shifts. Thanks to the prison’s meticulous nature and quick organization, he had been confident that he knew precisely which key was the one he wanted. Then, he had memorized every facet of the key’s shape.
Now, with that in mind, he took the nails that he had been blacksmithing with before to raise his level and began crafting the key. He laid the metal out on the paper to make sure there wouldn’t be any issues with the length or proportions when he began visualizing and then proceeded to go to work. This process took a lot longer than even golem crafting. The amount of metal might have been small, but the amount of mana needed was huge. The keys at the prison were larger than most, and it took just over 90 grams worth of iron to replicate. This meant that Lee was close to losing ten percent of his total mana just shaping a single key, and that gave him even more incentive to take his time and make sure it came out flawlessly on the first try and prevent wasting any mana.
Once he was finished, he passed the key to the newest golem, who unceremoniously used its larger frame to gobble as much of it up as he could, though the tip was left protruding from its mouth, and then squished his way through the hole and out of the cell. After that, it was just a waiting game. All he could do was hope that the cover of darkness and the night shift would come soon.
Once the changing of the guards occurred, Lee stood up. Smiling to the men around him, he said, “Alright, gentlemen. It’s time to have some fun and stretch our legs. Are you ready?”
Chapter 9
Name: Lee
Race: Human
Class: Herald - None
Level: 23
Health: 330/330
EXP: 1977/25500
Primary Stats:
Power 33 (34)
Toughness 33 (34)
Spirit 33 (34)
Secondary Stats:
Charisma 20
Courage 20
Deceit 19
Intelligence 152 (159)
Honor 5
Faith 787
Personal Faith 245
Skills:
Unarmed Combat Initiate Level 7
Swordplay Novice Level 7
Sneak Journeyman Level 1
Cooking Initiate Level 7
Trap Detection Initiate Level 6
Knife Combat Initiate Level 8
Mental Fortitude Initiate Level 1
Sleight of Hand Initiate Level 3
Blood Shield Initiate Level 2
Glass Smithing Initiate Level 6
Divine Skills:
Golem Sculpting Journeyman Level 1
Appreciative Drunk Novice Level 8
Nectar of the Gods Initiate Level 2
Spirit Smithing Initiate Level 3
Faith Healing
Divinity Powers:
Life in Death
Titles:
Cheat Code Fighter
Lee had been planning this since he had first played a game of chess with Masha’s father, and he couldn’t help but grin as he looked at the eager prisoners. They weren’t well-armored, and they didn’t have any weapons, but he had been reminded that they were being starved in the giant cell for a reason: they were experts. From the former Knight Captain Pelham to the destroyer on the sands, Dave, they were likely all the best that the fallen faction of Humanity still had to offer in Kirshtein. The rest, those who couldn’t handle fights or weren’t incredibly powerful, had already died on the sands to monsters.
The only two things limiting them from being a threat were the facts that they didn’t have enough food to muster the energy to put up a good fight and that they mostly didn’t have weapons or proper armor. Lee had been letting them eat and drink to their heart’s content for the past forty-eight hours, solving the first problem, and he even had a fix for the second.
“Well, since you’re ready, I think it’s time that you armed yourselves for what's to come,” Lee said, pulling glass swords from his inventory. The base damage on them was still only 2, but with Lee’s Glass Smithing at Initiate Level 6 now, the weapons had a total of 9 damage each. Combined with the power bonus from their levels, the newly-made weapons would deal a high amount of damage rather quickly--so long as they didn’t directly strike plate armor. There was still an issue with their durability, but Lee had done a little testing while Dave was going slaughter-happy and found that each increase in his glass working also increased the durability of the shields he produced. He wasn’t certain if that bonus carried over to swords he created, but he could only hope so as he handed out the weapons.
“Now,” he began, “we’re going to have a lot of fighting ahead of us, and these weapons are not easy to reproduce. You need to take care of them. Don’t assume that these are as strong as steel. They might be gifts that Augustus has told me to give to you, but they are still only glass. They will break and shatter if you try to parry or block with them, so only use them for stabbing. Aim for soft spots, and don’t try to cut through thick pieces of bone.”
“They didn’t confiscate my weapon,” Dave said, tossing Lee back the short blade only to have it snatched out of the air by Pelham.
Pelham twisted the blade in his hand, testing its weight and balance. “‘I’m used to using shields with short sw
ords, but I’ll take the challenge,” he said. “And we can’t use them to parry? Sounds like a blast. We wouldn’t be knights if we didn’t give ourselves a massive handicap so that the fights were fair and balanced, now would we, men?”
Lee wasn’t sure if he was doing a proper sword kata, but his movements were beautiful to watch. The sword spun around so quickly and so smoothly that it left after afterimages and tracers in its wake, reminding Lee of someone waving around a colored sparkler.
I have to keep these men under my command after this is over, Lee thought as his eyes darted between the dual-wielding Pelham and Dave, who had just pulled out his tried and true giant, two-handed flail. Each one of them is like another Miller but with a different weapon of choice.
The man closest to Pelham laughed and remarked, “You say that, but you have two blades. I’m stuck with one!”
“I’m not sure how honorable and just a prison break is for a knight like me,” another said, giving the weakest laugh he could as he touched the blade. “But I think I’ve had enough of the law. I don't think I ever should have let them arrest me in the first place.”
“Yeah, if I had known how they would treat me, I’d have killed a few of them before being dragged in here,” the man by Pelham replied.
“Hey,” Pelham interjected, cutting them off before the conversation ran too far astray. “Lots of us have family on the outside. Would you have wanted to see them butchered just for pride while we were locked away? You did the right thing, and now a god is rewarding us, so form up proper. Mister Herald Lee here is expecting us to facilitate some good old-fashioned bloodshed as we claim our freedom, and I damn well better see every single one of you complying.”
Lee blinked, doing his best to hide his surprise. Nameless prisoners numbers two through eight used to be knights under Pelham? Were they all arrested at the same time, or did they get dragged here separately under different charges? He regretted that he hadn’t spent more time listening to their tales. Nope, no time for those thoughts. Lee shook his head and pushed away his curiosity. Ethan was quickly approaching the door, and he didn’t plan on making the little guy wait.
Lee didn’t have a complex plan. The most difficult part had been in finding a route that would limit his encounter with the snipers on the towers, but it was fundamentally simple: sneak out, kill anyone that noticed them and hide the evidence. “Alright,” he said. “I’ll give the signal when it’s time to open that door. It’ll be unlocked, and when it is, we will need to secure the guards as quickly as possible. Pelham, I know you’re eager for blood, but I think Dave should be the one to go out first since his weapon is better. I also suggest you all form one party and equip any loot you get as soon as you get it. Oh, and one last thing: I need those of you in the middle to carry corpses whenever possible. The last thing we want is for dead bodies to signal our presence before we’re out of here, and we can’t have an exposed flank, so the people in the back don’t need to be the ones lifting dead weight.”
“I’ll volunteer for that,” one of the redshirts said, stepping forward.
“Me too,” his companion said with a nod. “I’m not as good as Taj with a weapon, but I can hold my own. I used to be a blacksmith before I was locked up, so I’m used to lugging around the dense blocks.”
Blacksmith? Perfect! Satterfield’s gear has been sorely lacking, so I need to get him back there as soon as possible once we’re out of here. If I didn’t know first-hand how racism is hobbling this town, I’d laugh at the fact the guards didn’t put such a valuable craftsman to work instead of out on the sands. Oh, well. Their loss.
“Alright then, men,” Lee said as he looked over at the door. He had the mouse carrying the key scurry up the door and force the key into the lock. The two guards stationed outside would likely hear the noise, but another of the little mice was already prepared to intercept them. It launched itself into the air and landed on one of the guard’s faces, flapping and beating his wings to obstruct the guard’s vision.
“Get it the hell off!” the guard yelled.
Before his comrade could fulfill the request, however, the now-unlocked door burst open, and Dave came through and smashed the man in the face. The giant spiked ball at the end of his flail caved the man’s skull in as if it were striking a water balloon, and blood exploded everywhere.
“Less messy!” Lee advised as the golem dropped off the other man’s face and flew away.
The rodent’s departure gave the guard only a second of vision before the spiked ball of Dave’s flail crushed his rib cage in and smashed him against the wall at the same time.
“There. Less messy. But honestly? I don’t see the point. If someone comes by and finds this room unguarded, they’re going to know something is up,” Dave protested.
The blacksmith stepped forward to grab the corpse, but Lee stopped him. “No, you guys, cover the blood with dirt and sand. Make it hard to see. I’m going to throw this body into the cell and lock the corpses up behind us. There’s no reason to carry more than we need to.” Lee hoisted both of the dead men’s remains over his two shoulders, lugged them back into the cell and then unceremoniously dumped them against a wall behind the door. Before he left the bodies, he snatched a set of keys off one of them. He didn’t know what locked doors he might come up against ahead, and, as a rule, he knew that one should always collect keys when in a dungeon.
“So where to now, boss?” Dave asked as Lee stepped back out of the door. The floors and walls were filthy with dirt, but there wasn’t any noticeable blood.
“Alright, follow me,” Lee said, walking in front of the group. “Augustus has told me exactly which turns to make.” He didn’t even have to use his mental connection to know that Ethan was upset with Lee attributing credit to the drunken deity once again.
They took several twists and turns through the labyrinthine prison, doing their best to dodge as many of the guards as possible. The golems had been exploring the prison for days, and they had developed a fairly competent understanding of where most of the guards were stationed and how to avoid them. As such, the group made fairly decent progress as they worked their way toward the entrance. They only had to kill a total of eleven guards on the way, and each was traveling either in a pair or alone. The whole operation seemed as if it would be a success, coming off without a single real hitch, but then an uneasy feeling started in Lee’s stomach. His brain kept screaming, This is too easy! Something isn’t right! This is too easy! Something is wrong here! over and over again, but the group continued around each corner unobstructed.
Dave rounded the final corner first, and the barbaric old man dropped the last three remaining guards before the rest of the group had time to even react. He turned to the rest as they joined him and remarked, “Seems like Augustus really is looking after us. It looks like freedom will finally be ours.”
“Yeah, it seems that way,” Lee said, watching the door as the group scuffed dirt over the bloodstains and the body-holders picked up the fresh corpses. “Now, I guess the only thing left is for us to get free of this area. Once we’re out, you need to find Connacht’s faction. It’s the last remaining one that will put you all up. I’ve already written him and let him know that you’re coming, and he’s helped each one of your families reach a safe point, so they won’t be able to hold any leverage against you.”
Pelham’s ears perked up and he suddenly looked interested. “Connacht? That arrogant upstart is actually going to help us out? What’s he after? Why hasn’t he done anything sooner? He could have gotten us out legally if he wanted, but he just watched us get rounded up and tortured. How can we trust him?”
Yeah, good points all, but who else are you going to trust? “Do you have someone else in a position of power who will look after your families and loved ones?” Lee asked the obvious question rather than trying to challenge him. “I’ll see that everything is taken care of if you do.”
“No,” Pelham answered. “But I don’t have any loved ones still al
ive to mention. I don’t need to throw in with his lot. I’m fine just sticking with you. I owe my freedom to Augustus anyway.”
“Mine just died of old age,” Dave said. “I’d like to help you as well. I’ll do what I can to help protect this town.”
Lee felt a wave of relief. He looked over at the first two redshirts, only to see them turning their heads and not meeting his gaze. “It’s fine, guys. Don’t worry about it. You have family and people you care about. You need to take care of them. Connacht will help you do that, so stick with him. He might not be the best guy to have in your corner, but he’s the only one you can look to. After the war is done and things settle down, you can move your families to Satterfield. I’ll personally see to it they are fed, taken care of and employed. I’ll find something for everyone. You can trust me on that.”
“That sounds good,” the blacksmith responded. “My family will be the first to move.”
No matter how happy he was at the prospect of getting a blacksmith for Satterfield, Lee still decided to cut off the chatter. “That sounds great. But we need to get moving. Let’s not count our chickens before the eggs hatch. We’ve got just one last door, and Augustus won’t tell us what’s on the other side of it.”
The golem guiding Miller was fast approaching their location, but Lee’s reinforcements on that side were still a way off. The two golems with Lee couldn’t get through the wall to see what was on the other side because there weren’t any holes. This part of the prison had the worst airflow and was sealed up tight. The only reason Lee knew this was an exit was because he had mapped the whole structure out already, and the door had been open when the rodents went through during the day. The lack of information made Lee incredibly uncomfortable, more so because of how easily they were able to get so far. He wanted to believe it was his skill and planning, but he didn’t have an ego large enough for that. He had been defeated way too often by Masha’s father.