Having that crown screwed onto my head might have come in handy now, Hawke thought as he shouted at them in Common Fey.
The Warriors ignored him and charged while the Shaman began a spell. Hawke grimaced and fired off a Burning Light spell; the cone of energy washed over the village defenders, killing them all. They eat people and they would have happily killed me, he reminded himself as he shrugged off a notification informing him that he had earned eleven XP from the killings. Out in the distance, he heard the skittering sounds from more Arachnoids. They sounded like they were running away, which was fine with him. He didn’t care about the Necromancer’s allies. He wanted Greg.
As the rest of the group reached the village, Hawke examined the area. There were five tunnels heading off in different directions. Finding out which one to take to get to the Stronghold might take some spellcasting or scouting.
Or he could backtrack the horde of dead critters the Necromancer was sending his way. That worked too.
Hawke stood by the ramp until the first Undead turned up. They were the reanimated demon bones the Necromancer had revived to chase him down, but he had done some extra work on them, greatly increasing their power:
Reanimated Demon (Undead)
Level 10 Elite Skeleton
Health 1,000 Mana 200 Endurance 0 (Tireless)
Behind the two demon-Undead critters came a whole bunch of Abominations, dozens of them, patchwork critters made from assorted body parts crudely sewn together. Their levels were higher than they had been when they attacked Orom. Hawke wondered how the Necromancer had managed that as he prepared to deal with the monsters:
Abominations (Undead)
Level 10 Monstrosity
Health 400 Mana 10 Endurance 0
He set down Consecrated Ground while Rabbit and Korgam’s fighters spread out to both sides, blocking the mouth of the tunnel. Behind them, a second line Volunteers and Adventurers backed them up with their polearms. And further back, the casters and ranged combatants rained hell on the descending army. The attackers almost literally melted away under the intense magical attacks; only the reanimated demons survived long enough to trade blows with the front line, and neither of them did so for long. But more Abominations kept coming. Hundreds of them, backed by a dozen Harpies and about as many Wraiths floating over them. And they weren’t alone.
“The Arachnoids are coming back to the village!” Tava warned.
Hawke glanced towards the direction she was pointing out. More Warriors and Workers were pouring in from the tunnels at the other end of the village.
“Take Rabbit, Gosto, and the Volunteers to hold the village,” he told Tava.
There were a couple of spots between the rows of houses that could be plugged by four or five people fighting side by side. Gosto reinforced the line with his Nature’s Guardian. They held off the mostly low-level Arachnoids as the spellcasters and Tava’s steady rain of arrows wiped them out by the dozen. Without the Volunteers, Hawke’s outnumbered army would have been surrounded and slowly but surely ground down. With them, they still had a chance. Hawke didn’t know if that justified the lives he’d sacrificed to get them there, but he didn’t have time to worry about it. He had a huge fight in his hands.
More Undead kept coming down the tunnel. Wraiths and Harpies cast spells from range, striking Hawke and his Dwarven allies with a variety of death curses, lightning strikes, and icy missiles. Egg and Crommen kept everyone alive, with Hawke tossing a Healing Wave every few seconds to help out. The Undead spellcasters were disintegrated by Hammers of Light and Fireballs. Up close, he killed melee attackers in bunches with Burning Light and Consecrated Ground. And when he needed to give his Mana a rest, he drank potions and hacked away at any critter in range while his energy levels recharged.
Some Abominations had been equipped with pickaxes and spears, but even when they landed a hit they were unable to pierce his defense for more than one or two points of damage. Others tried to grab him, but all they got from their attempts were agonizing burns before being finished off by Saturnyx or a spell. And whenever the monsters pressed the line too hard, Egg unleashed Mass Blast Undead and wiped out every zombie or ghost within a hundred yards. After a while, the Abominations had to drag the bodies of their fellow Undead out of their way before they could reach the fighting line. There just wasn’t enough room for over three hundred twice-killed bodies.
The Arachnoids are in full retreat, Tava announced mentally. We lost Sopon the Warrior and Tibor. The Spider Shamans’ doing, before we killed them all.
Hawke cleared the area in front of him with a Burning Light and looked at the Party Interface. Two names were now wreathed in black; one of the new Adventurers and a normal guardsman. He hadn’t even noticed the deaths in the frenzy of the fight. That made four dead Volunteers on his conscience; one in five of the people who had followed him there had been killed.
After the Arachnoids were driven away, the two groups joined forces and focused on the Undead. The Necromancer’s minions were destroyed in droves and the small army pushed forward, killing as they advanced. The monsters were tough, but they couldn’t stand up to the combined-arms force facing them. Their attacks couldn’t kill any of the tough Adventurers in the front, not before healers undid all their efforts with one or two spells. A few minutes later, the last Undead, an eight-level Wraith, vanished in the glare of one of Nadia’s Fireballs, and silence returned to the tunnel.
For slaying your foes, you have earned: 1,309 Experience (163 diverted towards Leadership; 163 diverted towards Node Mastery).
Current XP/Next Level: 13,184/16,000. Leadership XP: 8,934/10,000
Current Node Mastery XP/Next Level: 2,369/3,000
“The Milestone,” Korgam said in an awed tone of voice. Killing hundreds of Undead had gotten him to tenth level.
“Congratulations on your advancement on the Path,” everyone who wasn’t too tired to speak echoed.
Over the next few minutes, just about everyone congratulated each other, because most members of the two parties had leveled up. Some newbies had gone up by two levels, and two new Adventurers had been ‘born’ in the brutal fight with the Undead and Arachnoids. Hawke was the odd man out, due to his higher level and for losing all his XP after his double death. He should be level fourteen by now. Instead, he would be facing the Necromancer still stuck at twelve.
“Thanks for the moral support,” Hawke muttered as he collected his prizes.
Hundreds of loot bags yielded seventy-five gold denars, over a dozen Lesser and regular Potions of all kinds, and a smattering of Good and Enchanted swords, spears, shields, and pieces of armor. None of the gear was an improvement over what he already had, so Hawke shared it among the Volunteers. Maxom, the new Paladin of Lumina, had traded his old chain mail for a cube-shaped helmet and several pieces of plate armor. He was also fifth level; with Hawke’s Leadership enhancements, that made him a worthy secondary tank and healer. The small army had grown in power at a rapid pace.
“I am now a Paladin of Vitara,” Nadia announced proudly.
She began to put on the Spider Emperor Set. The cape settled easily over her shoulders, and the ring and scepter weren’t a problem, but then she looked at the crown with a doubtful expression. She cast a healing aura on herself, then firmly placed the crown over her head. Hawke heard the whirring sound, giving him flashbacks to some bad sessions at the dentist’s office, and he helped hold her steady as she hissed in pain.
The effect the gear had on her stats, coupled with her new Class and levels, was very impressive. There was a reason it took so long to make it to level ten, because Adventurers and Eternals reached a whole new, well, level of power:
Nadia Morganna (Elf)
Level 10 Sorceress/Paladin
Health 250 Mana 545(1,0
95) Endurance 204
She was nobody you wanted to mess with. And her casting bonuses let her fire off spells as fast as she could think of them, easily one or even two per second. Nadia had come a long way from the scared Earthling he had met less than a month ago.
“Well, that was unpleasant,” she said, carefully touching the crown. “And it’s going to happen every time I take this thing off and on.”
“Jesus.”
“I may keep it on for a while. Maybe never wash my hair. Just kidding. My heals actually kill a lot of the pain. I guess I can get used to getting my head drilled a couple times a day.”
“You are a brave woman,” Tava told her.
“Coming from you, that is quite the compliment.”
Tava’s smile faded. “I once told Hawke that I thought you were weak. I was wrong. My apologies.”
“I was weak,” Nadia replied. “A fraidy-cat who had to lure a friend into something she was too scared to face alone. I want to be better. To do better.”
The Ranger-Slayer and the Sorceress-Paladin hugged it out.
A big happy family, Hawke thought. As long as I don’t get them killed.
He was more worried about Tava, of course, but Nadia wasn’t immortal, either. Nobody was. A part of him wished he could reach a peaceful arrangement with the Necromancer and try to live out his life in peace… He shook his head, angry at himself. Even without the oaths he had sworn, there was no way he was going to let that dickhead continue tormenting people. Allowing evil people to do what they wanted when you had the power to stop them was almost as bad as doing the deeds yourself.
He watched his small army with a combination of worry and pride. They were almost there, and if he didn’t screw up, everyone would live to see the end of it.
“We’ll take a fifteen-minute break. And then, we’ll finish what we started.”
Forty-Three
Warning! You are about to enter a hostile Stronghold.
Stronghold defenders’ effective levels have been increased by five and their damage and resistances will be raised by 25%.
Continue? Y/N
Hawke selected ‘yes’ and looked at the tunnel. He was officially in the Necromancer’s Stronghold, but the two-hundred-foot long passageway looked the same until it opened up into a vast cavern, sealed at one end by a fortified wall. A central double gate was currently closed and flanked by arrow slits, murder holes, and other defenses. Roofed battlements on top were manned by Undead crossbowmen and Wraiths. Nobody had shot at him, even though he was well within bowshot range, but he figured that the moment he took a step into the tunnel that would change.
He looked back at the forces set up behind him. He had left most of the Volunteers as a covering force in the Arachnoid village, led by Marko, to keep the were-spiders from trying a rear attack. Now all he had to do was organize a frontal assault against a fortified position without getting his own people killed. Korgam had a plan, and it might even work. They just had to iron out a few details.
“I should be the one to go,” the Dwarf said. He had acquired a specialization in his original Class, and was now a Shield Master, who could withstand impossible levels of damage and imbue his shield with several powerful spells. He had a point; his survivability was probably better than Hawke’s.
“They’ll need you on the other end,” Hawke replied. “That will take a good deal of tanking, too. And you know your people better; you guys work like a unit. I’ll keep the bastards busy in here.”
“We don’t know how long it’s going to take,” Korgam warned him. “A Stronghold has countermeasures against such things. I trust Egg and Taggan’s power and skill, but such things take time.”
“I know. I’ll be fine.”
“May the gods listen to you.”
Egg buffed everyone in Hawke’s team before the Dwarves went down the tunnel, away from the Stronghold. Hawke turned to his friends. Alba was the unhappiest of the bunch, since she wouldn’t be able to do much until the second phase took place, but she nodded grimly as he went over the plan. Gosto and Tava weren’t thrilled, either, but they understood what they had to do. And Nadia just seemed eager to get started. She had lots of new spells to play with, and was surrounded by the Life equivalents of Hawke’s defensive auras. She didn’t have the survivability of a true tank, but wasn’t a glass cannon anymore.
“You sure you want me to wait before I release my spider-friends?” was her only question. “They might take some of the heat off from you while you get there.”
“Nah. Save them to keep them thinking there are more attack waves coming.”
“Gotcha. Good luck, Hawke.”
“If I die, have everyone pull back and hold at the Arachnoid village. By the time I get back to you, I should have a Plan B worked out.”
“Just don’t die,” she told him.
“She is correct, my beloved,” Tava agreed. “Do not die.”
“I guess it’s unanimous. Everyone ready?”
They all nodded. Hawke did a quick refresh on all his shields and he started running towards the Stronghold’s gates, an assault force of one.
* * *
The Necromancer had been saving his best to defend his domain.
Hawke couldn’t make out who was behind the arrow slits lining up the walls, but there were plenty of attackers on the battlements, too. He was hit by eight spells and over a dozen crossbow bolts in a couple of seconds, not counting the dozens of misses and near-misses that cracked holes on the ground or left shafts quivering in the rocky surfaces. The spells were Death-based, curses meant to shut down organs, stop your autonomic functions, or turn your own blood into poison; each inflicted close to a hundred points of damage. His Bulwark of Light absorbed the first wave of curses and bolts without a problem.
Behind him, his friends provided covering fire. Tava dropped her signature Imbued Killing Arrowstorm and cleared an entire section of battlements while Nadia’s Fireball exploded against the defenders on the other side. Gosto used his new Earth powers to raise a defensive wall a hundred feet forward, providing cover for the rest of the team as they moved forward. From the newly-formed wall, the support team used shorter-ranged spells against the gate’s defenders.
Several creatures went down, but the ones that weren’t destroyed outright kept firing or casting spells without faltering; Undead weren’t affected by pain, shock, or fear. The only way to suppress them was to kill them again. Half a dozen more enemy spells and a second flight of crossbow bolts rained down on Hawke. The multiple hits wiped out his Bulwark of Light and reduced his Health by over two hundred, but that was okay. Hawke used Twilight Step to teleport the rest of the way and fill the area to the left side of the gates with magical darkness that blinded the defenders.
He dropped a Consecrated Ground at his feet and checked the double doors barring the entrance. They were made of some sort of petrified wood reinforced by metal fastenings and ancient magic. According to his True Sight, the doors had a Damage Resistance of 50/60% against everything, and 5,000 Health apiece. Well, time to start banging away. And he wouldn’t be doing it alone, either.
Hawke summoned his Darkness Guardian and put the huge beast to work on knocking down the gate. He followed that summon with Nature’s Guardian, the bear-tank version, mostly to soak up damage but also to weaken the gate. Defenders on the battlements leaned over them to shoot or cast spells downwards, but Hawke fired a double-power Burning Light on them, destroying several damaged Undead. He followed it up with a Dazzling Light that temporarily blinded anyone looking through an arrow slit on another section of wall, and he even had time to drop a Touch of Light on himself and a Healing Wave on him and his pets. Insta-casting was great!
Nadia was demonstrating that as well; she stood in plain sight and fired off high-damage spells as fast as if she was using a semi-automatic weapon, except that her pew-pews were blasting Undead with, eighty, ninety, a hundred and twenty damage per hit. She was taking fire back, but her defenses held out unti
l she stepped back into cover. That was when she released her summoned Spider Hounds, six big black-widow shaped critters the size of Great Danes, and sent them charging off towards the gate. Gosto followed suit with another Nature’s Guardian. The pets soaked up arrows and spells that might have hit someone important. The Guardian lived long enough to reach the gate and join in the attack. Unfortunately, that was when the enemy cut loose with its big guns.
Four pillars of pure Death Magic struck the area by the front gate. All the summons except the Darkness Guardian were destroyed. Hawke sensed his Health plummeting towards zero but was able to use Timeless Mind. Everything slowed to a crawl, letting him use Transference to keep himself zero until the spells were finished, and then took an extra few seconds to throw a healing spell and a new Bulwark on before letting time resume at its normal speed. As the battle raged on, he summoned a Mana Potion from his inventory and gulped it down while Gosto healed him up. Those spells had to be the Necromancer himself and maybe his students. A quick check of his Combat Log confirmed his suspicions:
You have been hit by Level 20 Death Cyclone for 800 Death damage! Total damage inflicted: 257
You have been hit by Level 15 Death Cyclone for 600 Death damage! Total damage inflicted: 122
Timeless Mind Activated!
That was a nasty spell, and Hawke had been in the area of effect of two of them. He did a few more heals on himself and his surviving pet. The Guardian was tough as hell, so it was still in good working order. More importantly, its continuous pummeling of the gate had brought the structure down to below two thousand Health. It was going to take too long, but they were trying to distract the defenders, not overwhelm the front gate.
Hawke teleported to the battlements, casually backstabbed an Abomination trying to reload a crossbow, and threw a double-effect Dazzling Lights onto the courtyard on the other side of the wall, filling the area with blinding, stunning magic. The open courtyard was surrounded by fortified buildings: barracks, he figured. There were dozens – hundreds? – of Abominations lined up behind the gate, ready to attack anyone who broke through, and more Wraiths and Undead crossbowmen rushing to replace the ones destroyed by Nadia and Tava’s withering fire. And across the courtyard, he saw Gregory the Necromancer, surrounded by three pale men wearing lab coats just like his. His apprentices, and they were a nasty bunch:
Lord of the Dead: A LitRPG Saga (The Eternal Journey Book 2) Page 25