Guilds at War: The LitRPG Saga Continues Page 18
His magical defenses absorbed the force of the crashing maul, but the Undeath aura around it seeped through them and he felt a cold numbness begin to spread from the point of impact.
You have been afflicted with Major Undead Curse.
You will lose 200 Health, Mana and Endurance per second for 30 seconds.
Warning: This curse bypasses the protection of Mana Shield!
Your Dexterity will be reduced by 2 per second for 30 seconds. If reduced to 0, you will be paralyzed. Lost Dexterity will be regained at the rate of 1 per minute after the Curse is dispelled.
Warning: If you are killed while the curse is in effect, your current body will be raised as an Undead construct. Your Reincarnation will be delayed by 2-4 hours and you will lose 4 Identity points and 1 point from each of your Attributes.
Are you effing kidding me? Hawke’s mind screamed as he ducked under another swing and blasted his target, finally finishing it off. He used Healing on himself, but the spell did not remove the curse, only restoring some of the damage. His Imbued Body reduced some of the ongoing damage, but not enough. Gritting his teeth, Hawke used the Potion Dispenser to inject a Major Rejuvenation potion into his bloodstream and released more healing spells as he fought the half dozen walking dead blocking the way to the bridge. Korgam was right behind him, unable to do much on the narrow walkway, but using one of his abilities to make Hawke more resistant to damage. Behind the Dwarf, Grognard used his own spell selection on the remaining Undead while, further back, the rest of the party rained hell on the enemy. Besides the bunch he was fighting, there were still over a dozen monsters left around the bridge, including three leaders who kept using their howling spells. His Party Interface informed him that Boris and Lady Pew-Pew were beginning to falter. They needed to finish this fight quickly.
Heketa laughed madly behind Hawke, loudly enough to be noticed in the heat of battle. A moment later, dozens of bright blue missiles rained down all over the battlefield. Wherever they landed, they generated something like Hawke’s Healing Wave, restoring the living and burning the Undead. The overlapping explosions wiped out all the zombies left. Even better, the spell removed the curse from every living being it touched, much to Hawke’s relief. He managed to catch the name of the spell she had used, but nothing else: Heketa’s Blessing of Life.
Her spell is named after her?
He looked back at the Witch, who had stopped cackling but was still grinning toothily, her eyes glowing with crazy glee. She was effective, and apparently could create and name her own spells, but she didn’t seem to be very stable. Hopefully she would remain functional. Shrugging, Hawke turned to the Nerf Herders, who were downing potions as quickly as they could summon them from their inventories. Artos, the Rogue-Mage combo, turned to his rescuers and froze in shock.
“Oh shit, it’s that Hawke bastard.”
Glorificus shrugged. “I’m too tired to care, and better him than the Undead. You going to kill us again, Hawke?”
“Nah,” Hawke replied. “I didn’t spend all that Mana saving your asses just to send you off to respawn.”
The Elf thought about it for a moment before nodding. “Okay. Thanks, I guess.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Kaiser sent us here. Everyone in the sniper team, I mean. Supposed to be looking for an untapped ley line somewhere below the sewers. But when we got to the spot he marked in our map, we got jumped by a bunch of walking dead.”
“We figured this was some shit detail he gave us, you know, to punish us for letting you steal the guns,” Artos added. “But if he knew about the zombies…”
“If he knew about the zombies, he sent you here to be killed,” Hawke said. “Nice guy, your boss.”
“Worse than killed, I think,” Glorificus said. “They were trying to take us alive. Did something that paralyzed anyone they touched. Three of us managed to break out, but they chased us to the bridge and surrounded us. Lost one more along the way. If it wasn’t for you, they would have taken us, too.”
That was even worse news. Greg the Necromancer had invented – or more likely, been told of – a way to extract the life energies from Eternals. If the zombies had captured the Nerf Herders, they might be using them for something similar. Perma-death was bad enough without having your soul turned into fuel or even coinage. Hawke hadn’t forgotten where the Soul Shards that had helped him level up had come from.
He glanced back at the group, met Tava’s eyes. He asked a question through Saturnyx, and she nodded.
“Show us where you ran into the zombies,” Hawke told Glorificus.
“Why?”
“We’re going to save your friends.”
Twenty-Two
Even without the rescued Eternals’ guidance, it would have been easy to find to the zombie’s point of origin. The trail of corpses led right to it. Hawke didn’t like the Herders, but they had fought hard.
“They took down Gorat right over there,” Glorificus commented, pointing to a walkway where half a dozen Risen lay in pieces.
Some of the chopped-up bodies must have fallen into the canal to be dragged by the sluggish current, but there were plenty left. The Orc had put up quite a fight, which didn’t surprise Hawke in the least, having crossed swords with him. If he hadn’t been cheating, the Archer-Warrior would have given him a much tougher time. Not that Hawke felt bad about cheating. When lives were on the line, you fought to win.
“Was he alive?”
The Elf shrugged. “Dammed if I know. We were retreating in a leapfrog pattern, you know? One of us held them back while the rest moved to a covering position, then that one retreats while we cover him. Just like we’d trained to do, except there were too many.”
“We were covering Glor while he pulled back,” Artos said in a monotone, shell-shocked tone. “Gorat was slicing and dicing them while I blasted them. But one of the bosses leaped up from the canal and tackled him. The other zombies swarmed him, and I couldn’t use AOEs without hitting him. Nothing we could do. We broke contact and ran, until we ran into another group at the bridge.”
You left your buddy behind, Hawke thought, but kept it to himself. Berating the Herders wouldn’t change anything, and he had bigger problems to deal with. Maybe the Orc could be saved, along with the others. Even if all they got in the end was the death penalty, it had to be better than what the Undead had in store for them.
“Surprised you guys didn’t attack me on sight,” he commented as the group trudged on through the dark tunnels.
“We didn’t have standing orders to that effect. So we could use our discretion.”
“That’s nice of Kaiser, giving you a little leeway. Guess favored slaves get that sort of treatment.”
“We aren’t slaves,” Artos replied, snapping out of his funk. “The oaths we took are binding, but at least we’re not like the poor bastards at the Factory.”
“Watch what you say,” Glorificus warned. “If we give out information to an enemy, the oath will kill us.”
“We’ll respawn back at the compound. Better than this shithole.”
“Are you insane? Kaiser sent us off to die. Do you think he wants us telling the others about it? He will be waiting for us at the respawn point to finish us off.”
Artos started to say something, then shook his head and kept walking.
“How far to where you got jumped?” Hawke asked them.
“Two or maybe three intersections ahead. I think,” Glorificus said. “There is a section of tunnel that’s caved in; the hole leads to some underground structure that isn’t part of the sewers. More like a mining tunnel.”
“Right where Kaiser sent us,” Artos added. He shook his head again. “I knew he was mad about us losing the guns, but I never thought he’d do this.”
He fed those poor bastards to the zombies. That’s cold, even for that rat bastard.
Saturnyx said.
I figure killing him will fix him, Hawke replied as the group rounded a corner and reached the collapsed wall. He sent an Animated Shadow to scout ahead, and the critter reported nobody was around. Either all the zombies were gone – doubtful – or they had chosen not to send reinforcements after the hundred or so dead runners that had chased the Herders to the bridge, for whatever reason.
This tunnel section was a good thirty feet higher than the one where Hawke had entered the sewers and the current on the canal below was a lot faster and stronger. The passageway sloped up as they reached the central part of the city, which had been built on a higher, hilly area. From what Saturnyx had told Hawke, Akila had started out as a string of hill forts erected by the legions of the Eagle Empire, many centuries ago. The older sections of the city looked down on the rest of the urban sprawl that had grown around it, making it a literal uptown. And, looking into the hidden tunnel that had been revealed by the collapsed sewer wall, uptown held a secret or two.
Hawke looked at the odd-looking tunnel. Unlike the brick-walled sewers, the semicircular passage appeared to be made of smooth stone that had been polished or melted into shape. It was also much wider, a good fifteen feet from side to side, with a twelve-foot curved ceiling.
“Earth magic,” Grognard said, looking behind him. “I have a few spells in that Element. That’s a tunnel made by reshaping stone or dirt into something stable and solid. Probably enchanted to preserve it long-term.”
“We saw the tunnel, but didn’t have a chance to take a closer look,” Artos said. “Soon as we got there, they rushed us. The zombies. They’d been waiting for us in the side sewers to surround us.”
“Going in there is suicide, man,” Glorificus said. “No telling what they’ve got at the other end, but it’s got to be more zombies and whoever made them.”
Hawke had to admit the Nerf Herders had a point. Six decent-level Eternals, and they’d lost half of their team in the first scuffle. He checked his Quest Log and found that he still hadn’t officially succeeded in solving the mystery. They were going to have to go in there. But maybe not all of them had to.
“I’ll go alone,” he said. “I can sneak around a lot better on my own than with a bunch of you, and have a better chance of getting out, too.”
“If they capture you…” Tava said. “They are taking Eternals for a reason, darling. You may not Reincarnate after they are done with you.”
“They have to catch me first. I trust you to get everyone back safely.”
“You’ve got to be joking,” Grognard said. “You dragged us halfway across the sewers, and now you’re sending us back?”
“You’re always saying you don’t go around looking for trouble.”
The veteran wasn’t buying it. “Buddy, we’re balls deep in trouble. And shit water. We’re supposed to be a team.”
“I know. But someone needs to do recon, and none of you can do it better than me, or I’d send them instead. If you hang out by the entrance, you’ll be at risk without helping me any. You’re better off getting back and alerting the authorities. We know something is seriously wrong already, but a Trogg tunnel could mean any number of things. I’ve got to learn more.”
“Glory hounds have a way of getting themselves killed, along with a bunch of grunts,” Grognard told him.
“I’m sending you out of harm’s way, for now. And I’ll keep Tava informed. If I need your help, I’ll let you know.”
Grognard stepped back, shrugging, and Hawke turned to the Nerf Herders next.
“You can go back to Kaiser or hide out somewhere until I’m done wiping out your guild. Your choice.”
“Glor was right. If we go back, he’ll probably perma-kill us,” Artos said. “We can go hole up at some low-rent tavern or something. He didn’t give us a deadline to come back. Which should have gotten us suspicious, now that I think of it. He loves deadlines.”
“Can he keep track of you on the Guild Interface?”
“No, not yet, at least.”
“You’re on your own, then. Good luck.”
The two Nerf Herders nodded and headed off. Maybe they’d try to get back in Kaiser’s good graces by telling him about Hawke’s sewer incursion. But what else could he do with them? He had removed Girl’s oath to the guild, but that had required a dive into her memories and nearly gotten them killed. Worse, he’d been warned that the next time he tried that trick, he would pay for it dearly. Two gamers turned into murder hobos were probably not worth risk. Hawke watched them go, wondering why he’d saved them in the first place.
Because it was the right thing, even if it ends up costing me.
He set those thoughts aside and turned to Tava. They held each other for a few moments. It was all they could afford.
“You will come back,” she told him.
“I will. Take care of Digger for me. I can’t hide him, and if I need a tunnel monster, I can summon a copy.”
“Rabbit doesn’t care for the smell of the beast, but I will keep him safe.”
“And keep an eye out for the Herders. I think Kaiser is playing a deeper game than it appears.”
“Whatever he is planning, he made a grave mistake by crossing us,” Tava said, a ferocious grin on her face.
Hawke smiled back. “I love you.”
“And I, you.”
He waited until the group had disappeared into the sewers, went into Ninja mode, and stepped into the catacombs.
Twenty-Three
Hawke nodded and continued his stealthy walk down the ancient Trogg tunnel. He had found little more than a few discarded pieces of clothing, probably dropped by some poor bastards as they were dragged off to be turned into more zombies. The passage was sloping down, going deeper into the earth. The magical tunnels must be impossibly watertight to avoid being flooded by the sewers and the nearby river. If his years as a plumber had taught him anything, it was that water would always find a way in, one way or another.
Guess magic is the answer to everything, Hawke thought as he made sure that his Celestial-, Chaos- and Mind-enhanced Twilight Shroud was in working order. Combining the three Forces into the spell was expensive, but the mental effort had been worth it. As long as he didn’t start screaming, banging on the walls, or playing a bagpipe, he was nearly impossible to detect.
Figures. I’d expected him. Actually hoped so, because if there’s more than one Revenant in the Realms, we’re probably screwed.
The Fae-Undead hybrid that the Necromancer had released into the world had caused more trouble than anything else Hawke had encountered in the Common Realm. And the worst part was that there were over two hundred and fifty other Revenants in the vault of his Stronghold. He had to get rid of them, or there would be no telling what kind of damage they could inflict.
The tunnel leveled off and ended on an open gate. The door was a semicircle thirty feet wide and was made of solid black metal, looking a bit like what you’d find protecting a bank’s vault, decorated with spiral inlays of mithril and gold. Luckily, it was wide open, and through it Hawke saw an open area that stretched out beyond what his Dark Vision could make out. It reminded him of the Arachnoid settlements he had seen, except mu
ch larger, with a roughly spherical ceiling at least a hundred feet high, with enough room to fit a village or a small city. Stone structures rose in the distance, built in strange, twisted, pointed buildings that looked a little like soft ice cream twirls, except decorated with sharp spikes instead of sprinkles. That was unusual, but the architecture didn’t explain the unease that crept over him as he approached the buildings. Something in the area felt wrong, unnatural.
Hawke slowed down as he began to hear noises coming from the Trogg settlement. He moved in that direction, catching glimpses of a plaza or courtyard beyond the swirly buildings. Unlike the orderly square-grid pattern of the good parts of the city above him, the paths in this place were curved and twisted, leading to dead ends as often as not. The streets of the underground city were covered with paving stones of some pale material he didn’t recognize in the darkness, where his Dark Vision turned everything into shades of blue. When he took a closer look, he caught glimpses of… grinning skulls staring back at him. They seemed to be floating inside the semitransparent blocks like flies caught in amber. Every ‘tile’ on the street held dozens of death heads. That some hell of a pavement material.
Pillars supporting the twisted buildings around him were made of the same clear glasslike material, and suspended in them were more skeletons from dozens of different species, all posed as if caught in the middle of a dance, legs up, heads thrown back. Something about the arrangement struck Hawke as both horrifying and… amusing. He found himself beginning to chuckle, and shook his head to clear it off. This wasn’t funny. It was insane.
This is like something the Laughing Man would do, he thought.