Gamer for Love (Alpha World Book 8)

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “We rescued a prisoner from the labyrinth,” Gerald said, motioning Taylor forward. “This is Jay Taylor, Sire. He is a Summoner who was working for the Crown inside Stein’s revolt.”

  The guards in the room tensed as they eyed the Summoner, who looked very unassuming. Tyr frowned, “What proof do you have that he is on our side?”

  “I have a letter from Mother, signed by the Dark Lord, for you,” Taylor said. Pulling out a scroll, he handed it to Gerald. “I can also decipher the portal locations that you recently copied, because I used to use them.”

  Tyr’s brows drew further down, “You know of my plans?”

  “The Dark Lord is willing to use his entire power base to aid you,” Taylor said, looking unimpressed by the King. “The fact that I’m standing here now should prove I’m not with Stein. I believe they had questions for me, which is why I was still there when your team found and freed me. I would like to speak with your archivist to learn the fate of my family, if that’s not too much trouble.”

  One of the guards collected the scroll from Gerald, bringing it to the King so he could read it. His face cleared up as he read it. “I see. Ioaniss, see to Taylor’s wishes. We also need you to look over the items that Heart’s Light has retrieved.”

  “Of course, Sire.”

  “You have my gratitude, Taylor. Summoners are no longer hunted by the Crown, and one of the Demon Lords is here and a Summoner, as well.”

  Taylor gave Alburet a look before nodding. “I was informed, Sire. I’m uncertain what has transpired over the long years, but I’m glad that my kind are no longer being falsely accused.”

  “I’m glad for the strife to be over,” Tyr said a bit tightly. “Please speak with Rolland,” Tyr motioned to the mage, “once you’re done with Jones.”

  “Of course.”

  “This audience is ended,” Tyr said, standing up. “Alpha Company, your representatives are to follow the guard to the vaults.” He strode away with the Priests following him.

  “Let’s go train and upgrade,” was the common refrain heard all around as everyone else headed for the exit.

  “If you’ll come with me, Taylor,” Ioaniss said. “Rolland, you may come as well. It will make things faster this way.”

  “Marysue should be our choice,” Alburet said. “If she can get anything to make her job easier, we’ll all live longer.”

  “I agree,” Karen nodded.

  “I’m going,” Violet said.

  “As am I,” Ironhand chuckled.

  “Okay, you three follow the guard,” Gerald said. “Everyone else, well done. Be ready for whatever comes next.”

  “Shall we go home?” Fluff asked.

  “Aye,” Stacia nodded, “tha’ be the best idea.”

  Alburet

  Demon Lord Summoner

  Ambassador for the Dark Lord

  Level 93

  Strength: 377 (0)

  Agility: 377 (0)

  Constitution: 822 (420)

  Intelligence: 452 (50)

  Wisdom: 1,722 (1,010)

  Charisma: 407 (0)

  Health: 12,870

  Mana: 21,870

  Spells:

  Demon Skin-Rank 9

  Demonic Retribution- Rank 9

  Summon Greater Imp

  Fire Blast- Rank 9

  Sap Strength- Rank 9

  Demonic Haze- Rank 9

  Summon Greater Destroyer

  Demonic Vitality- Rank 9

  Fire Burst- Rank 8

  Summon Greater Succubus

  Abilities:

  Personal Spells

  Flame Weapon

  Copy

  Infernal Upgrade: (Succubus- Ally)

  Infernal Upgrade: (Imp- Big Boom)

  Infernal Upgrade: (Destroyer- Demonic Shell)

  Infernal Upgrade: (Succubus- Comforting Touch)

  Copy

  Infernal Upgrade: (Succubus- Essence Drain)

  Still Caster

  Infernal Upgrade: (Imp- Burning Cleanse)

  Infernal Upgrade: (Destroyer- Savage Roar)

  Infernal Upgrade: (Destroyer- Bash)

  Imp Storm

  Infernal Upgrade: (Imp- Infernal Flames)

  Demonic Inspiration

  Infernal Upgrade: (Destroyer- Thunderous Stomp)

  Racial Abilities:

  Cast spells without verbal components

  Physical damage reduction 25%

  Magical damage reduction 10%

  Influence emotions

  Fire resistance 125%

  Reputation gains at tenth value

  All stats increase by 4 points per level

  Can use any weapon regardless of strength required

  Double movement speed when minion present

  Maxed reputation with all Infernals and Worshippers of the Dark Lord

  All Debuffs last half as long

  Immune to movement impairing effects

  Immune to mind altering effects

  Chapter Fifteen

  Alburet woke early the next morning to see his message icon blinking in the corner of his vision. Pulling himself out of bed, he stepped softly away to let the three women sleep. Grabbing his gear and slipping into the bathing room, he opened up the icon.

  Message from Gerald Stoutheart:

  Al, Marysue and I want to check in with a few of the Keep groups before we head out today. Unless something else happens, we’re thinking of hitting the last few dungeons we have left.

  Seeing the message was from ten minutes ago, Alburet sent a reply. After a quick rinse and getting dressed, he was about to leave the room when Stacia walked in. “Ya woke before us. Everythin’ be okay?”

  “I didn’t want to wake you,” Alburet said, pulling her to him. “It’s not often I’m up before you.”

  “Aye, which is why I was worried when I saw ya had gone,” she murmured, leaning into his embrace.

  “Everything is fine,” he said, softly kissing the top of her head. “Gerald wants to check on some of the Keep groups, then hit the last few dungeons we haven’t done yet.”

  “Iffin tha’ be ya wish, then it be mine,” Stacia replied, not moving.

  “Oh, getting in some morning fun?” Karen asked from the doorway. “Or... not?” She frowned, seeing him already dressed.

  “No. I was just trying not to wake you all. I seem to have failed.”

  “We woke up on our own,” Fluff said, following Karen into the room.

  Alburet shook his head, his eyes lingering on the naked bodies of his wives. “Gerald wants to hit the last few dungeons today after checking in with some of the Keep groups. I’ll go let Loralee know we’ll be heading out soon.”

  Stacia kissed his neck, then let him go, “Ya sure ya would nay want to help us rinse first?”

  Reluctantly, Alburet stepped away from her, “That would delay us too much.”

  “Damned right it would,” Karen chuckled.

  “We’ll hurry,” Fluff giggled.

  He turned to try to walk out of the room, but was snagged by Karen and Fluff in turn for kisses before they released him. Smiling like an idiot, Alburet headed down to the kitchen.

  Sticking his head in the doorway, he saw Loralee and two other Succubi working in the kitchen. “Loralee, the ladies will be down shortly. We’ll need to be heading out soon.”

  “I’ve got breakfast set up, so I’ll get it cooked in a few minutes, Lord.”

  “Thank you. To you as well, ladies,” Alburet said, giving them all a smile.

  “Reminds me of my best master,” one of the Succubi said before the door closed.

  Alburet took a seat in the dining room and one of the Succubi came out just a moment later with a pitcher of juice and a cup for him. He thanked her, then realized he didn’t know her name and that she must be one of the wives of the guards.

  “It is a pleasure, Lord Darkhand. I did wish to thank you and your lovely wives for allowing us to live here with you.”

  “Thank you all for your service,�
� Alburet said. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know your name.”

  Smiling, the Succubus curtsied to him, “I’m Ju, Lord. My husband Likus was one of the first to come into your service with Bezzle.”

  “I’m sorry to not have known before,” Alburet said. “I’m not used to having so many people around.”

  “We understand, Lord. It’s our pleasure to serve you. It has been so long since a Demon Lord has come to be. Even more than that, you are the reason we can walk inside this city without being harmed.”

  “Aye, he do be special,” Stacia said, as she came into the room with Karen and Fluff.

  “You’ll make his head swell, and not in the ways we really want,” Karen snickered.

  “I’ll let Loralee know you’ve all arrived,” Ju said.

  “Thank ya, Ju,” Stacia said with a smile.

  Stacia, Karen, and Fluff managed to sit before Alburet could get up to seat them. “You knew her name?”

  “I met her when we had our housewarmin’,” Stacia replied. “I have nay yet learned the names of all of our newest additions, but I will in time.”

  “Don’t feel bad. I don’t know many of them, either,” Karen told Alburet.

  “I know most of them,” Fluff said softly. “They’ve all asked to have family drawings done.”

  “Is that what you’ve been doing during some of our downtime?” Karen asked.

  “Yes. I was just finishing with the original staff when we had more show up. It’s nice to see how different each family is, but they’re also all so close knit and loving.”

  “Breakfast is ready,” Loralee said, coming into the room with a tray of food. “I’m going to be making stew tonight, if that’s okay?”

  “Stew is fine,” Alburet replied with a smile. “Honestly, Loralee, anything you cook is fine. I don’t think you could make a bad meal.”

  “It’s almost like she’s had hundreds of years to practice,” Karen deadpanned.

  “Indeed,” Loralee smiled. “Very well. I wish you all happy hunting.”

  They dug happily into stacks of pancakes, enjoying the meal fully. Grabbing their gear, they left the house.

  “Where are we heading today, master?” Tiny asked.

  “Not sure exactly where Gerald wants to start,” Alburet admitted. “Let’s head to the Portal Guild and I’m sure we’ll find out.”

  When they arrived at their destination, they waved to Gerald and Marysue, who were just exiting their carriage. “Thought you’d be here long before us,” Alburet chuckled.

  Gerald coughed and looked away, “We, um… we were delayed.”

  Karen laughed, “Nothing wrong with a delay for the right reasons.”

  “I told you it would be fine,” Marysue smiled at Gerald as she took his arm.

  “Lead on, then. Which one are we hitting first?”

  “Just a quick visit to each one where our guys are in charge. I talked with Blaze, he’s doing the same thing, but Benedict said he had other ‘more pressing’ things to deal with. I’m wondering if he didn’t get an extra quest from the King or Justice.”

  “Possibly,” Alburet mused. “We only have two dungeons left. You think we’ll fit both in?”

  “If we don’t take too long talking,” Gerald grinned and started for the door.

  “Point,” Alburet said as Stacia and Fluff took his arms. “Well, ladies, ready for the day?”

  “Aye.”

  “Of course.”

  “I’m always ready,” Karen said, “as you should know by now.”

  Bob cackled and Alburet rolled his eyes. “I know she wasn’t born one, but Karen sure has embraced being a Succubus well. Hasn’t she, master?”

  “Yes she has, and she’s been getting advanced classes of late, too, I’d bet.”

  “Oh, ya nay be wrong, but it be more all of us learnin’ from each other.”

  “I hope I can survive,” Alburet said.

  “You will, for us,” Fluff said brightly.

  ~*~*~

  Things were calm at the first few Keeps. The defenders chatted about the attacks they had faced in the last day, but they were laughing and joking about it. After Gerald checked in with the leaders, the group would portal back to Stormguard and head to the next zone.

  Arriving at the Swamp of Misery was a completely different story: the Keep was under attack. Langistors swarmed all around them, most of them significantly under the level of the group.

  Gerald used Ground Stomp to give them some room. Bob and BJ went up high to start lobbing Fire Bursts. Fluff was already in the middle and triggered her Whirlwind, adding her bleeding damage to all of the mobs she hit. Karen— without an area damage Ability— focused on Gerald’s chosen target. Tiny and TJ guarded Marysue, waiting to pull any mobs off her if needed. Alburet went into the air alongside the Imps to get a better view of the battlefield and Stacia and Kitten took to the air beside him, not wanting to use their magic until they could actually help.

  High above the others and throwing Fire Blasts as fast as he could cast them, Alburet looked not just at his friends but at the Keep as well. Every wall was being contested, the Langistors using their fallen as stepping stones to climb the walls.

  “Damn! What the hell happened here?”

  “Over there,” Stacia said, pointing toward a group of black cloaked figures casting some kind of spell.

  “BJ, go see what the fuck they’re doing,” Alburet said.

  “On it,” BJ said as he took off toward them.

  As the battle with the Langistors waged on, Alburet kept glancing over at BJ. The same oily black line of energy he associated with Stein’s minions flashed out at BJ, who barrel rolled, barely dodging the beam. Dismissing the Copy, Alburet resummoned BJ next to him.

  “Gerald, we have cultists on the other side of the attack,” Alburet called down. “To your left about forty-five degrees.”

  “Not sure I can move through this,” Gerald yelled back up to him. “Most of these mobs are Undead Langistors.”

  “Fuck,” Alburet cursed. “I’ll do what I can.”

  “I can nay affect them,” Stacia reminded him, “iffin they be undead. The cultists also be immune.”

  The cultists saw Alburet above the field and gathered together, launching a torrent of black flame into the air above them. Alburet tensed, but the flames didn’t come near them, and the cultists looked like they were preparing to leave.

  “What the hell?” Alburet said.

  “The Keep,” Kitten gasped as she glanced down.

  Along the walls, the Defenders had suddenly turned on each other. “The cultists are leaving, but the Defenders are attacking each other!” Alburet called out.

  “We’ve got our hands full down here already,” Gerald called back.

  “Fuck,” Alburet cursed, dismissing Kitten and BJ. “Imps incoming.” Triggering Imp Storm, he watched as the air became filled with Greater Imps. “Area burn. Wipe out as many as you can,” Alburet told his sudden air force.

  “Thank you. Give me a passage and we’ll head inside,” Gerald said as the Langistors around him were incinerated by the barrage.

  “Stacia, Bob, you’re with me,” Alburet told his minions, casting his buffs on himself before diving for the Keep.

  Seeing Alburet head for the Keep, Fluff growled and took off running for the wall. Karen cursed but stayed with Tiny, TJ, Gerald, and Marysue, fighting their way through the mobs while Fire Bursts exploded all around them. As the three airborne Infernals landed inside the gate, they were met by a group of four players with Bloody Moon Guild badges on their chests.

  “Open the gate,” Alburet told them, but something about the looks on their faces told him it wasn’t going to happen.

  “Fuck you, you over privileged asshole,” the heavily armored one snapped before charging Alburet.

  Stacia and Bob went to attack the Defender, but Stacia was suddenly encased in amber and Bob was entombed in ice. The group of players laughed, but it was cut short when Alburet r
ipped his axe off his back, the head of it bursting into flames.

  “What!?” the Shaman healer shouted. “Stun him, Xav!”

  “I did,” the Defender said, shocked that Alburet was still moving.

  A flame trap appeared under Alburet, but it didn’t harm him with his Fire Resistance. A Blizzard covered him and did some damage, but Alburet ignored it and let his anger come out. “I see how it is, Bloodmoon.” His growled words made the players step back involuntarily out of fear. Axe swinging, the Defender caught it on his shield and stopped most of the physical damage, but the fire damage from the axe and Demonic Retribution still went through.

  “It’s okay! He doesn’t have a tank or healer,” the healer shouted. “We can still take him out. His Infernals are already locked down.”