by Jamey Sultan
“I heard you’d been demoted, but I didn’t think they’d send you all the way over here,” Lynn said.
Now that he was positioned a bit better, James could see both of the guards’ status pages.
Name: Ted Monas
Race: Dwarf
Level: 17
Class: Guard
Name: Lynn Everest
Race: Dwarf
Level: 39
Class: Guard Sergeant
I wonder if she’s in charge here? James thought. From the way she spoke, it didn’t sound like she liked Karim much. That was interesting; most of the guards they’d passed had seemed to be on friendly terms with Karim…
Before he could let his attention wander too much, James brought his mind back to the present.
“Nothing like that, just trying to pass through,” Karim said.
“Oh, sorry to hear that. But this entire section of the city is blocked off under direct orders of Guard Captain Linnaeus.”
James remembered Linnaeus instantly. Last time James had seen him, he was the Squad Commander for the Coliseum guards. He was also an angry asshole with a hair-trigger temper. If people like him were getting promoted, things weren’t good.
“And I am Karim. My rank of Dominus is higher than Guard Captain, is it not?”
There was a pause, then a sigh. Lynn replied in a sullen tone, “Go ahead.”
Chapter 21
The carriage rumbled forward without another word from either of them.
With his new position, James could see eerily empty streets. They were passing through what had once been a busy market area by the Coliseum, dominated by street stalls that sold a variety of items. Now though, the streets were dirty and filled with scraps of food, small items, and abandoned stalls. Even stranger, there wasn’t a single animal scavenging through the rotting food.
The carriage shuddered as it rolled over the smashed remains of a cart that looked like it had sold cabbages.
Despite the apparent abandoned streets, not a single one of them said a word as they rolled through the city.
About fifteen minutes after they passed the guard station, they rolled by a scene that looked like it could’ve come straight from a horror movie.
An entire block looked as though a bomb had gone off. Buildings were destroyed and rubble was scattered through the streets. Everything James could see was covered in a layer of frost and huge icicles dripped from the bottoms of rooftops, creating pools of water that ran into the streets. Here, James caught the first signs of life he’d seen since they’d passed the blockade.
A group of guards with heavy-looking shovels and pickaxes were struggling to free the frozen corpses of their comrades from icy prisons.
One guard was impaled two feet off the ground by a cluster of icicles through her chest. Each one was the size of James’ muscular forearm. Rivulets of blood dripped down her corpse, a bright crimson near the wound but barely pink by the time they dripped to the ground, diluted by the melting icicles.
As their carriage passed by, one of the guards looked up at the sound of the wheels splashing through the street. James watched his somber face as he raised a hand in a sad wave to Karim. Then he was gone, out of James’ limited sight.
The carnage spanned an entire block. As they closed in on the center of the damage, the carriage slowed. A chunk of stone bigger than Arik blocked the roadway. As Karim directed the carriage around the boulder, one of its wheels caught on a patch of ice. The entire vehicle shuddered and skidded, tipping dangerously.
After a brief moment of panic, the carriage righted itself.
James let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. The carriage was an interesting piece of Dwarven technology. It wasn’t pulled by animals, but by a person’s own Mana. When Arik held the wheel, he pushed Fire Mana through a series of complicated connectors and into a faux engine that made the wheels turn. It was honestly genius.
***
About fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the entrance to the tunnels without any incident.
Karim hopped out of the carriage first and looked around. “Coast is clear,” he said and, with a groan, lifted the driver’s seat of the vehicle.
James crawled out first, followed by Arik, then Nidra. As soon as he was free, he stretched his legs and groaned in pleasure. “Oh, that’s better.”
They were in front of a wide tunnel, blocked by a thick metal gate. The gate was set directly into the rock with foot-thick metal supports.
“Come on, guys,” Karim said, gesturing for them to join him by a wheel connected to a thick iron cable that led around a series of pulleys to the gate. “With the four of us, we should be able to open the gate.”
Together, the four of them strained against the wheel. James could feel his muscles quivering as he pushed as hard as he could. A bead of sweat dripped down his face. Slowly, the wheel squeaked into motion. With a piercing screech, the gate rose into the air.
When the gate reached its halfway point, there was a click and a counterweight activated. The wheel started turning the other way, but much slower and the gate descended.
“Quickly now, the gate has a counterweight system to prevent it from staying open too long.
James was about to step into the tunnel when an icy wind blew through the air. Frost crystallized along the ground and a dense fog rolled in, blocking the sunlight. Unlike the fresh scent of a natural fog, this fog was accompanied by the smell of rot, mildew, and mold.
A dark shadow glided toward them.
“Run!” Karim screamed, bolting toward the tunnel entrance.
As the shadow got closer, James could feel a cold chill run along his back, as if someone had poured a trickle of water right under his skin.
A figure materialized in the fog, a middle-aged Human in a well-tailored black outfit, wearing a dark cloak. He was slightly translucent, and his body blurred, making it difficult to tell him apart from the fog.
Name: Invictus Alleri
Race: Human (Vampire)
Level: 79
Class: Frozen Templar (Corrupted)
A spectral hand reached for James’ wrist, but just as it was about to close, something yanked James away from where he stood, frozen.
The status effect [Fear] has been broken.
Suddenly, he realized he’d been standing completely frozen as the Vampire closed in on him. Arik yanked his arm again and pulled him over the threshold and into the tunnel just as a spear of ice shattered against the stone where he’d been.
James scrambled backward, ready to run, but he realized the fog was gone. He was relieved to see the Vampire could not pass through the entrance as a barrier of blue script flickered to life whenever a curious wisp of fog explored too close to the tunnel entrance.
James breathed a sigh of relief and smiled; the smell of mildew had been replaced by a sweet, earthy scent.
With a shuddering boom, the gate slammed shut behind them.
Chapter 22
For a second, they were in darkness, then Nidra’s flaming light burst into existence, illuminating the area around them. James’ breath caught in his throat as his excitement at escaping the Vampire turned to fear.
On this side of the tunnel, the thick metal gate was covered with deep scratches and dents. Dark brown stains marred the surface of the metal, blood from countless Dwarves trapped behind the closing gate. One stain in particular looked fresh, a set of bloody handprints that glistened crimson in the firelight, but whatever had made them was nowhere to be found.
The tunnel itself was the same reddish-brown stone as the mountain, but unlike the stone of the aqueduct or the city, the stone of the tunnel was textured and rough with visible tool marks. A thick vein of iron ran along the length of the tunnel as far as James could see, interrupted every fifteen feet by wooden support structures.
The group followed the roughshod walls down the tunnel, passing by clusters of rock and slices of metal. Every once in a while, the occasional small
creature scuttled by. Each time it happened, James jumped. As they walked, nobody talked.
Before long they reached a split in the tunnel and stopped. Karim, who’d been scouting ahead, gestured toward the right tunnel. “This way.” In the oppressive silence, his whisper sounded like a shout.
“How do you know that’s the right way?” James asked quietly.
Karim gestured to a cluster of three rocks stacked together. “Every once in a while, we’ll send a guard patrol through the tunnels closest to the city. Just enough to keep the population of Trolls and other monsters under control. They use the stones to guide and send messages.”
James gulped and nervously glanced side to side. “Did you say Trolls?” In the video games he’d played, Trolls were powerful monsters with massive boosts to health regeneration. At level 24, he wasn’t exactly a powerful warrior. He was still a basic class, even if it didn’t feel that way sometimes because of how powerful his class was. But now he didn’t have Tyrfing, so he wouldn’t be able to cheat his way through powerful fights like he’d been doing.
“Don’t worry,” Karim reassured him. “Dangerous creatures generally avoid the main tunnel since it’s patrolled more often.”
Nidra patted James on the shoulder. “Besides, I’ll torch any Troll that gets too close.” She grinned. “I’ve got to make up for the Minotaur.”
***
Eventually, they stopped to eat. James wasn’t sure how long it’d been, but he was starving. He handed everyone dried fruit and meat. He wished they could’ve had a fire and eaten real food, but he didn’t want to attract predators with the smell of meat cooking.
Once everyone had food, James decided to broach a topic he’d been worried about. “We need to talk about Lucien.”
All eyes turned to him and he continued. “I think we should go after him. Not only did Ozure use me, he is possessing or manipulating Lucien into freeing him. We need to stop it.”
Nidra’s eyes narrowed and she nodded. “I agree.”
Arik on the other hand hesitated. “I…” He sighed. “Okay, but you have to promise me something.”
“What?” James asked.
“We are also going to find out what happened to my dad.”
James nodded. “I already told you that I would, and I keep my word.”
“We’ve been through too much together to abandon each other now,” Nidra agreed.
The three of them looked at Karim expectantly. It would be great if he joined their team—he was already level 80 and more powerful than the three of them combined. When Karim noticed them looking, a frown graced his face and he shook his head. “When we leave the Old City, we’re going to part ways. I have something I have to do.” He shook his head and stood up. “Enough talk, we’ve got a lot of distance to cover.”
James wanted to ask what he had to do, but Karim clearly didn’t want to talk about it and James respected that, so he packed up the leftover food without prying any further.
Karim twitched and gestured for James to pack faster. “Someone’s coming,” he said.
They were in a long, straight section of tunnel with no fork in sight.
Karim dropped down to one knee and made a throwing motion; six glowing bear traps left his hand and hit the ground. When they hit the ground, they vanished.
“Come on,” Karim said. “They’re going to be here soon, and we need to be ready.”
The four of them stepped back and waited. Soon, a group of ten Dwarves rounded a corner. They stopped when they saw James and his party. Half of the Dwarves were bloodied and looked ready to give up, but one of the Dwarves stepped forward. James immediately noticed he was the only Dwarf without a scratch on him.
The Dwarf was dressed in white clothing with a red accent. He sported numerous gold rings and, from the way the other Dwarves were looking at him, he appeared to be the leader of the group. What drew James’ attention, though, was the Dwarf’s weapon. It almost looked like a gun.
James scanned the Dwarf’s status page.
Name: Faeron Diles
Race: Dwarf
Level: 67
Class: Sharpshooter
Faeron’s weapon looked like a copper rifle with a scope. A bright orange gemstone sat at the tip of the barrel, while six yellow ones ran along the side. Three of them were dull, while the other three glowed brightly.
James opened his mouth to speak, but Karim beat him to it. “Faeron,” he said coolly.
Faeron’s eyes lit up when he saw Karim. “Well, look who it is, the pride of House Fractus.” Behind him, the other Dwarves laughed. They were all between levels 25 and 49. Emboldened by their reaction, Faeron took another step forward, his eyes flicking from Karim to the two Humans and an Elf behind him.
“Oh no,” he said. “First you let King Terrin die, and now this.” He tutted sympathetically. “What a shame, and House Fractus was already on probation.” The false sympathy melted from his face. “Looks like House Diles has a good chance of rising to the ranks of noble house.” Slowly, he raised his gun. “Especially after I apprehend you helping the enemy.”
As if it were a signal, six of the Dwarves charged forward. The two thickest ones took one step forward, so that they were slightly in front of Faeron. Each of them wore heavy armor and carried a shield.
Karim reacted quickly. He shot off an arrow toward each of the tanks guarding Faeron, and a third arrow toward Faeron himself.
The Sharpshooter fired a bolt of white-hot flames toward Karim while his two tanks easily blocked Karim’s arrows with their shields.
Karim dodged the bolt just as the Dwarves who’d rushed ahead reached the traps. With a series of loud snaps, four of the bear traps snapped shut. Two of the guards avoided the traps and moved forward to engage.
James took a half -step forward before he remembered that he was trying to avoid close combat. Instead of engaging them directly, he cast Arcane Teleport and took a second to survey the battlefield.
Karim had an arrow nocked and pointed at Faeron, but the Sharpshooter’s two tanks were already positioned to block it. Meanwhile, Faeron had the rifle pointed directly at Karim.
James decided to let the two higher level fighters be for a second. Instead, he focused on Nidra and Arik. Arik was frozen mid-step with a warhammer in each hand, between Nidra and the two Dwarves who’d gotten past the traps.
James absorbed the battlefield information in an instant. Then he acted.
The biggest threats in the fight weren’t the damage dealers, they were the two tanks. If James could distract them, then Karim would be able to deal with Faeron. Without Tyrfing, James wasn’t sure he could deal enough damage to the Sharpshooter to kill him in one blow, but he knew Karim could.
James crossed the frozen battlefield and positioned himself behind the enemy. When time resumed, he cast Arcane Missile.
He felt the difference immediately as the upgraded spell pulsed through him, draining three times the Essence it had before.
Three missiles of pure Arcane energy shot from his hand. One each for the tanks, and one for the Sharpshooter.
All three missiles hit their unsuspecting targets in the back. Both tanks stumbled, but one of them still managed to block Karim’s arrow. The arrow tore through halfway through his shield and embedded itself into his forearm.
When the third Arcane Missile hit Faeron, it exploded against an invisible shield about a foot away from the Dwarf’s back.
Faeron spun around and fired at James.
James tried to cast Arcane Teleport, but the magical bullet was too fast. It slammed into James’ chest, tearing through his Mage Armor and carapace armor like they didn’t exist.
James’ Essence bar dropped like a stone. It fell from 2610 all the way to 887.
He let out a gasp of pain. It felt like he’d been kicked in the chest by an elephant. Charred scorch marks ran across his armor and a huge dent in the breastplate pushed into his chest, making it impossible to breathe.
As James struggled t
o free himself from his armor, Karim launched another arrow. It hit Faeron in the back of the neck, killing the Dwarf instantly.
James ignored the fight and cut himself free of his armor. He then cast Arcane Missile twice.
Six missiles slammed into the uninjured tank, all striking the exact same spot.
The force of the missiles was like a series of jackhammers that caved his armor.
You have killed Theadore Bur (Level 27 Dwarf Shieldbearer).
+ 172 experience points
Immediately, James downed two of his Weak Health Potions. Together they restored almost 500 Essence, bringing James back up to around a thousand.
As soon as he was back in fighting shape, James turned to help his teammates, but it didn’t seem like they needed any help.
Now that Karim had taken care of Faeron, it’d been a relatively simple matter to kill the rest. James shrugged; since he wasn’t needed, he went to loot the Shieldbearer he’d killed.
The man’s chest plate was completely ruined thanks to James’ Arcane Missiles, which was a shame because James’ chest armor was also destroyed. He wasn’t too upset though; he meant to switch to later armor when he got the chance, especially if he were going to focus on quick movement and spellcasting.
James pulled the Leather Tunic of Toughness out of his bag and equipped it. The hardened leather armor shrunk to fit him snugly, and he nodded. It felt much better than the heavy carapace armor he’d been wearing. He thought about equipping the Orichalcum Sword of Embers, a sword he had purchased from the Dwarven merchant earlier, but decided that his dagger would be enough if he needed to get close. He regretted spending all the gold on the weapon, but it had been before he’d gotten his class and he hadn’t realized he wouldn’t need it.