by Paul Bellow
“After my nice long nap, I’d be ready for a celebration,” Josh said.
“Thanks to all my work with the blade wight arms, we have more than enough spare gold to throw a party,” Derringer said.
“It’s settled,” I said. “Tonight, we feast.”
We walked out of the courtyard, heading toward the inn.
“Maybe Axelrod will show up tonight,” Boki said as he struggled to keep up.
“Perhaps,” I said, not counting on it.
Between Axelrod and Sarah, I’d rather see her first. I smiled, looking forward to relaxing for a few hours. The Tower of Gates could make life miserable, especially with people like Magi Inyontoo stirring up the pot.
* * *
Later that evening, I sat in a dark corner of the dining room, my chair propped against the wall, and surveyed the scene. Boki, Derringer, and Josh had become instant heroes when they spread the wealth, buying food and drink for all.
The Magictology cultists wouldn’t be amused, but I didn’t care. We’d be leaving in the morning, continuing our journey to Shockly Forest to find Sarah. I hoped we found her. After Bernard came back so quick, I was getting worried.
Leena sat next to me, as calm and composed as ever. I saw her stealing glances at Bernard as he drank and mingled with strangers. Josh walked up, smelling of beer and sweat, then sat down at the table. Leena stood and excused herself.
I leaned forward, settling my chair on all four legs.
“Having fun?” I asked.
“Yeah, you should be too,” he said. “This game doesn’t give you many breaks.”
I nodded. “Just worried about Sarah,” I said.
He nodded, seeming to sober up a bit.
“We’ll find her,” he said. “Eventually…” He stood and shouted, “Who wants another round on the half-orc hero?”
I shook my head as the men and women who had crowded into the establishment went nuts.
Josh threw a handful of gold coins we’d gotten from the Temple of Magictology into the air.
The crowd went even wilder.
As Josh stumbled forward and got swallowed by a throng of people, my thoughts turned to more important matters. Why hadn’t we crossed paths with Sarah as easily as other people had jumped onto our storyline?
Leena returned to the table with a tall glass of crystal-clear water. She set it on the table then sat down next to me, making eye contact. “I want to go back to level one-one with Bernard,” she said.
“Does he want to go with you?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I haven’t talked to him about it yet, but I’ve been searching for him a long time now. That’s how I got to such a high-level. With everything going on in the game, I want to go where it’s simple and easy, you know?”
Would I end up wanting the same thing after years in the game?
“You need to talk to him about it,” I said, hoping he didn’t leave.
“Obviously, but I wanted to let you know. I respect you.”
I liked that she didn’t mince her words.
“We’re going to find a way out of this game,” I said.
She smiled politely and nodded, but I could tell she didn’t believe me. The celebration continued around us as we both went back to our thoughts.
A few minutes later, Boki ran up to the table, stopping and wiping beer from his beard with the back of his thick hand. “Why aren’t you joining us?” he asked, grinning.
“Someone needs to be sober and watch us,” I said.
“Don’t worry,” the drunken dwarf said. “Axelrod will be here soon.” He turned and wandered back into the crowd.
As I got comfortable, three acolytes in Magictology robes burst into the room.
“We demand our gold!” the thin-nosed leader from earlier yelled.
No one in the packed hall paid them any attention as they were entranced with Josh picking Boki up with a single hand.
I stood and put my hands on the hilts of my swords.
“Listen up!” the cultist yelled. “We’re serious!”
The other two banged a large gong, sending a ringing noise through the room. Everyone stopped talking and glanced over at the entrance where the cultists stood.
“We demand our gold,” he repeated in a serious tone.
“How about a dwarf?” Josh asked then tossed Boki toward them.
“No dwarf tossing!” the innkeeper yelled from the back.
Boki slipped a ring on in midair, causing him to slow down and float. The crowd oohed and aahed as the dwarf laughed drunkenly.
“That’s enough,” the cultist said. “We demand our gold a third time.”
“You can count,” Derringer said. “Good for you!”
The rowdy crowd launched into another fit of laughter and chastisement.
I kept my eyes on the cultists by the door.
“Stand down,” Leena said beside me. “They’re leaving.”
The cultist who had done the yelling turned and said something to the other two with the gong. After gesticulating madly, he stormed past them and out the door. The acolytes followed, dragging the gong between them.
I scanned the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
“One of us should keep an eye on them,” I said.
“I’ve got this,” Leena said. “You enjoy yourself.”
“We need to wrap this up,” I said. “We’ve got a long day tomorrow.”
“Agreed,” she said. “Maybe I’ve got the easy job.”
I smiled as she walked toward the door. “Oh,” I said. “One more thing.”
Leena turned and looked in my eyes.
“Yeah?” she asked.
“Be careful,” I said.
“The cultists?” She rolled her eyes. “I’m not worried about them.”
“No,” I said. “Bernard. He’s a friend of mine. I want the best for both of you.”
She smiled then raised a hand in farewell. I watched her make her way through the sea of people to the front door. After she left, I rounded up the others and convinced them to head upstairs for sleep.
“You know how to kill a party,” Boki grumbled as we walked upstairs.
I didn’t bother responding.
Chapter 11
Lich and his Legions
Eric
Someone shook me awake before dawn. I opened my eyes and saw a frantic Boki standing next to my bed. Eyes wide open, he kept glancing over his shoulder.
“What is it?” I asked, figuring he was drunk again.
“There’s an attack on the city. Leena told me to come get you.”
I sat up and threw the covers back.
“Who’s attacking?” I asked as I swung my legs over the side of the bed then stood. “Where are they?”
“The eastern wall mainly. A messenger from the chieftain said they’ve killed intruders trying to get in the western wall.”
“Everyone else downstairs?” I asked.
He nodded, face pale.
“We’re all a bit tipsy still. I didn’t think this would happen…”
His voice trailed off. I brushed his concern aside with a wave of my hand.
“Let’s go,” I said. “We’ll have to work with what we’ve got.”
I rushed downstairs, hoping Leena hadn’t wandered too far. We needed her magic to help defeat whatever was attacking the city.
“The undead are here,” Josh said merrily as I ran into the dining room.
I glanced around, seeing utter devastation after the party earlier in the night. People were passed out on the floor and sitting at tables.
“To battle!” Josh shouted, raising his sword in the air.
“He can’t handle his liquor like a dwarf,” Boki said.
“Where’s Bernard, Derringer and Leena?” I asked. “Did you guys come back down to party more after I went to bed?”
Boki nodded.
“I’m here,” Bernard said from behind me.
“Me too.” Derringer burped. “I
’ll be fine to fight.”
“What about Leena?” I asked.
“Here,” she said, walking into the room from the kitchen behind the bar.
“Who’s attacking?” I asked, hoping she had current information.
“A lich with an undead army,” she said. “Rexmao has assembled a group of soldiers in case they breach the walls.”
“We need to help the city,” I said. “Although we’re not in top fighting shape.”
“I don’t think we have much of a choice,” Leena said.
“Let’s go,” I said, waving an arm. “We’ll come up with a plan on the way.”
I walked out of the inn and onto the street. Men, women, and children were running up and down the road. A loud explosion boomed to the east, followed by a flash and plumes of thick, black smoke.
“This way,” I said, running toward the chaos.
Boki, Derringer, and Josh lingered behind, unable to run at full speed. Leena ran next to me while Bernard had sprinted ahead to scout our path.
The owl would’ve come in handy, but I still had at least twenty-hours before I could activate Who again.
Bernard, ducked into a doorway, motioned us forward. We kept moving forward slowly, waiting for Bernard to give us the all-clear.
I wondered what would happen if the city fell to the undead. Would the cultists help defend it or would it be overrun?
As we got closer to the action, I thought about the Everlast potions in my pouch. When we reached an intersection near the eastern gate, I saw Rexmao and several dozen armed men in blue plate mail.
The wooden gate rattled as something on the other side hit it.
Raxmao, the chieftain’s son, was nowhere to be seen. Was he protecting the western gate? Or the Temple of Magictology?
I kept moving toward Rexmao. He turned as I walked up.
“How bad is it?” I asked as I stopped in front of him.
“Bad,” he said, frowning and shaking his head. “Your group upsetting the local temple didn’t help matters.”
I pursed my lips together, saying nothing. Screams filled the night air as the mighty eastern gate shook.
Battering ram? They must’ve come prepared for siege warfare.
“Prepare yourselves!” Rexmao yelled to his troops.
“Don’t you have any archers on the wall or anything?” I asked.
“The undead have never attacked here before,” Rexmao said. “Until you arrived.”
“I’m telling you, we have nothing to do with this attack,” I said.
“Are you evacuating the city?” Leena asked.
“Evacuate to where?” the chieftain asked. “Everywhere has fallen or will fall.”
“We’ll make a stand here tonight,” I said. “All we need to do is last until morning.”
The sound of splintering wood caught my attention. I glanced at the gate as a thick log broke through then retreated.
“Positions!” Chieftain Rexmao yelled.
I wanted to ask about his son, but I walked to the left of the lines of soldiers in full plate mail. Bernard stood to my left and Leena to my right. Together, we’d fight to the end.
The mighty battering ram hit again, utterly smashing the door. Dozens of skeleton warriors rushed through. Rexmao and his men ran forward, meeting the undead warriors head on.
“We need to be smart about this,” Leena said, watching the gate.
Rexmao and his men mowed down skeletons like they were overgrown weeds. Leena uttered some words and danced a few steps before raising her hands. A rainbow of light shot from her palms, hitting some of the men fighting the skeletons. They cheered, pushing back the horde of armored skeletal fighters.
“That should help,” she said. “Where’s that lich?”
“Maybe I should go over the wall and look for him,” I said.
“No, wait.” She grabbed my arm and motioned toward the gate with her head. “Look.”
I turned and saw several zombie-tigers striding through after the skeletons. At the same time, the wall a hundred feet down from the gate shattered as a mammoth skeleton entered the city. Several dozen skeletons streamed through the breach in the wall.
“Now we’ve got a battle!” Josh yelled from behind me.
He rushed around the city guards to take on the monstrous-sized skeleton.
I heard the roar of at least a couple more mammoths outside the walls.
Can this get any worse?
A giant humanoid skeleton with two skulls on its shoulder peered over the wall. It stood at least five or ten feet higher than the stone structure protecting the city.
Boki and Derringer had rushed after Josh, their drinking buddy. I didn’t see Bernard anywhere. The intensity of the battle overwhelmed me momentarily.
“There,” Leena said, pointing to the gate.
A muscled, leather-skinned man with flowing silver hair crept over the smashed wood, surveying the scene. He stared in our direction, a look of pure evil emanating from his red, glowing eyes.
“That’s Aquarius,” I said.
“You know him?” Leena asked.
“Not personally, but we’ve met before.”
“Get the lich,” Leena said. “I’m helping with the mammoths.”
She ran behind the city guards valiantly fighting with Rexmao up in front.
As tiger-zombies continued pouring through the busted gate, I backtracked then headed for the city wall.
With my Ring of Spider Climbing, I easily scaled the stones. At the top, I drew both my weapons before running down the length of the wall toward the gate.
The lich pointed a finger. Headless riders poured into the city after the tiger zombies. One after another, they galloped underneath me.
What to do now?
Everything felt hopeless with so many enemies in addition to a high-level lich. The undead cavalry slammed into the heavily armored warriors.
I lost sight of Rexmao as the lich looked up and spotted me on the wall. Did he sense me? I gripped my swords as it levitated off the ground directly in front of me. Screams rang out all around as it rose.
The lich pointed a skeletal finger in my direction, sending a blue beam shooting toward me. I dodged to the right then ran further down the wall where the mammoth skeletons had crashed through the broken gate.
As I got my bearings, orange lightning shot up from the ground. The lich hissed and turned to locate the source. I ran toward the skeleton with two heads as it struggled to climb over the wall.
With it in a prone position, I attacked.
Your pierce HITS the two-headed giant skeleton for 9 damage.
Your slash INJURES the two-headed giant skeleton for 14 damage.
Your pierce GRAZES the two-headed giant skeleton for 4 damage.
The two-headed giant skeleton is not concerned.
The bony monster scrambled over the wall then turned to me.
Uh oh. I stepped back toward the wall over the gate.
“Down here, Skeletor!” Josh yelled.
The two-headed giant skeleton took the bait and turned away.
I crept back down the inside of the wall, looking for a way to backstab something. I paused halfway down when I heard a rumbling noise underneath me. Another mammoth skeleton walked through the hole in the wall. Its bony back hit the already unstable wall, bringing it down around me.
Here goes nothing, I thought as I dropped onto the back of the beast.
“Quit messing around!” Leena yelled from across the battlefield.
I jumped off the skeleton and dropped to the ground, rolling out of the way. Back on my feet, I surveyed the battlefield.
Rexmao and his men were not doing well.
Why hadn’t his son come with backup forces?
I pulled both weapons as a headless rider rode past.
Your pierce HITS the Headless Rider for 9 damage.
Your slash HITS the Headless Rider for 10 damage.
Your pierce HITS the Headless Rider for 8 damage.
As the horse and rider turned around, I ran forward and attacked again, not wanting to give them a chance to get me.
Your pierce GRAZES the Headless Rider for 4 damage.
Your slash INJURES the Headless Rider for 11 damage.
Your pierce INJURES the Headless Rider for 12 damage.
The Headless Rider is dead.
All the normal-sized skeletons had been dispatched, but several tiger zombies still roamed the battlefield, taking out the stray city-guards that remained, fighting until the very end.
Where’s Rexmao? Or Raxmao? Or anyone from the city?
The two-headed giant skeleton noticed me. Derringer and Josh had run over to Leena, protecting her as she traded pot-shots with the necromancer lich. As I watched, the recently killed soldiers rose and went for those who were still alive.
No time to help them.
The skeletal giant in front of me attacked.
The ettin skeleton INJURES you for 11 damage.
The ettin skeleton INJURES you for 13 damage.
You have [104/128] health remaining.
Your slash WOUNDS the two-headed giant skeleton for 17 damage.
Your slash INJURES the two-headed giant skeleton for 14 damage.
Your pierce INJURES the two-headed giant skeleton for 13 damage.
The two-headed giant skeleton is dead.
After chopping through its left leg, the skeletal ettin toppled, its bones disconnecting into forming a pile in front of the hole in the wall.
“For family!” Rexmao shouted nearby. “For the city!”
I turned and saw him run toward the lich at full speed.
The undead creature looked surprised at first, but it simply raised a single palm. Lightning flew out, hitting Rexmao. The chieftain screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. Several of the recently risen zombies tore into him.
His screams filled the air as they bit into his body. With him gone, the lich turned its attention to Leena. Forgot about me, I thought as I sneaked to the wall then moved toward the gate.
The lich stood its ground, both taking and dishing out damage. Before I reached a good spot to wait for a backstab attempt, the lich raised both arms into the air and chanted a bunch of spooky words I didn’t understand.