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Chapter 223: The siege
🕑 Added 2024-03-21 14:00:05 +0000 UTCCarl had made sure the other players were at the wall and ready to defend, then he’d slipped through the other gate and walked into the trees with Reflection active.
Soon he was creeping past goblin scouts, doing his best not to step on any twigs. Sweat leaked down his body as he searched for the goblin leadership.
From his many, many sessions of Dungeons and Dragons, Carl figured he knew a thing or two about goblins. They weren't exactly depicted as the bravest, most loyal creatures in the fantasy monstrous pantheon. He hoped roboGod made them accordingly.
If so, he figured, maybe if he could kill their chief, or whatever the hell it was, the army would simply pack up and go home.
When he’d realized how many there were, and seen the trolls, he decided it was worth a shot. Because the truth was he wasn’t sure they had a chance otherwise.
So he ignored the fear, and kept moving.
The goblin numbers around him swelled, and he controlled his breathing as he snuck onward. Then the trolls started smashing at Nassau's gate. A few goblins tried to climb the walls and got strangled or crushed by the vines. Then Carl stopped and stared as a goblin in a robe moved to the walls, and started burning the vines with magic.
Was that his target? It certainly might be.
Carl moved closer and watched, torn between killing the thing before it did too much damage, and waiting to see if there were other leaders. He soon saw a large goblin watching the wizard—this one wearing a metallic breastplate, neck and ears bejeweled, a fancy scabbard on his hip, wearing a helmet with a red plume.
"Tell the damn trolls to pick up the pace!" this goblin shouted, pacing back and forth at the edge of the treeline. A few of the nearby scouts came to whisper in his ear, then run off again. If they had a leader, Carl decided, this would be him.
But he knew as soon as he struck his stealth would drop. He would have to decide which to kill, unless somehow he could manage both with Simulacrum and a well placed warp or two...
He began to plan his powers, and his route. He would have to be quick and brutal and probably lucky just to kill them, nevermind escape. But if he succeeded, he might break apart the attack in one fell swoop. After some self-debate, he decided, it was worth a try.
The wizard was a question mark. He might have some magic shield or unseen defense. Did Carl try and kill him personally, or send his simulacrum, kill the chief, then warp over?
The chief would be an easy kill, he expected, but only from ambush. Once it came to a fight it might be far more difficult.
The chief, then, he decided. Better to kill one for sure then fail to kill both.
He moved to a central spot between them, preparing to activate Simulacrum. Then he saw red eyes in the shade of a nearby tree.
Carl turned as a figure wrapped in shadows appeared almost next to him. He stepped back in surprise and panic, and as he did the red eyes flashed towards him. The figure made a sort of tsking sound, held up a finger, and waggled it.
"Impressive," it whispered in a raspy voice. "You should join our Order, human. You needn't die with the others. Your talents will earn you gold. Slaves. Honor. But choose quickly."
Carl’s mind and heart raced. He’d been caught completely off guard. Could the thing actually see him, or just perceive him some other way?
"A fair offer," Carl whispered back after a delay. He summoned his weapon, and prepared to Shadow Leap. "But I'm afraid I must decline."
The red eyes squinted, and the creature's hands raised with black bladed knives.
"A waste. But now you die."
Carl blinked instantly, and still hardly made it. The creature's knife flashed through his clone's throat as Carl moved at magical speed to another spot nearby. Usually when he blinked, the whole world and everyone in it slowed to a crawl until he finished his move. But this creature was hardly affected.
It whipped a knife into a nearby tree, then turned and charged straight at him.
Carl activated Color Spray, then ran in for the kill while his enemy was disoriented. He saw the red eyes close, the goblin killer obviously affected and probably blinded for a moment.
But he showed no other sign. Carl sliced his Mirror Blade for the smaller creature's chest, but it pulled back, then flipped, another knife whipping forward at Carl's face.
He turned his head, the blade just slicing his cheek as he kept up the chase. He hacked twice, three times, four, as the goblin scrambled and leapt away without its eyes.
It grunted as it struck a tree, and Carl caught it. It tried to parry a blow with a curved blade, but Carl's Mirror Blade sliced straight through the metal, then half the goblin's wrist. It grunted and vanished, and Carl’s power warned him of danger so he Shadow Leapt instantly, not caring where.
On the other side he spun but saw nothing. He activated Reflect as quickly as he could and flattened against a tree. His heart was still pounding and he tried to calm it, fearing the thing might somehow hear.
But it wasn't slowing, it was speeding up. Carl put a hand to his chest and took deep breaths, then touched the blood leaking down his face. Terror struck as he realized: he'd been poisoned.
Fuck, he thought, looking to see the wizard was still burning vines, the chief oblivious of the deadly duel happening not far away, eyes still on the gate.
Carl knew then he'd failed. He needed to escape this killer and get back to Rosa, and judging on the speed of the poison, he needed to do it now.
With one final failure to find his new enemy, he planned his path, and started to warp back to Nassau.
* * *
Rosa scanned the list of ingredients in her storage space and mumbled a string of curses. The thing she was making had some dumb fantasy name but she knew it was basically naphtha, or kerosene, or who the hell cared it burned bright and hot.
“Why am I always rushing to save everyone?” she muttered as she poured and snapped the lid shut on her container. When she was finished she just left her supplies where they were and ran for the wall.
Up on the ramparts there were players shooting at goblins with crude bows, ducking as arrows flew right back. Some civilians were up there too, but most just ducked down and looked terrified.
The gate was breaking. Peni and some other craftsmen were building it up on the other side, calling for more wood. Alex stood near them looking bored, but probably keeping them all alive.
"Alex!” Rosa shouted, holding her concoction carefully as she came forward. “Can you help me?"
The Belarussian blinked, eyes slightly glazed, like he was focusing on something. "What can I do?"
Rosa swallowed and took another flask from her invisible storage. "I have to..." she pointed. "Go up there, and we have to throw these down. Like fire, or grenades, or, I'm not really sure. But the arrows..."
"Ah. No problem," Alex said. "You come to right place."
Rosa smiled gratefully, then the Eastern European gestured to follow and took her up some stairs that led up to the ramparts.
The wall seemed to shake as the giant creatures kept smashing at the gate, and Rosa couldn't stop her heart from pounding out of control.
Alex took her hands in his, which surprised her enough she met his eyes.
"You're OK. Out there? Not important, yes? One thing at time."
Rosa nodded and clenched her teeth, pulling the first batch of fiery mixtures from her storage.
"One thing at a time," she said, handing one to Alex. "Just throw it. The liquid will mix when it breaks."
He shook his head. "Can't. Or shields won't work."
An arrow zipped through the wall and deflected off one of Alex's purple shields, and Rosa flinched and nearly dropped the mixture.
Alex raised a concerned eyebrow, then stepped aside so she could get closer to the trolls. Rosa took a deep breath and moved above them, not even sure what the damn mixture would do. But there was only one way to find out.
She took a deep breath and stuck her head above the rampart, then froze as she saw a line of green creatures standing in the trees. Smoke rose from the walls all around her, one of the creatures loosing fire in great gouts at the vines. Her breathing threatened to spiral out of control as a few arrows deflected off Alex's shield.
"One thing at a time,” she whispered, then focused on her task.
With a final grunt of effort, she reached over the rampart, and threw her first potion straight down at the trolls.
And hit. It struck the thing's shoulder, liquid spilling down its body. For a frozen moment Rosa feared it hadn't worked at all. Then the liquid seethed with blue flames, roaring to life as it covered the troll so thick with fire the creature was hardly visible.
Rosa almost shouted in triumph, but just gripped the stone. The creature didn't run or scream. It just stopped and seemed confused, the other troll staring with equal curiosity.
"Keep smashing!" shouted a voice from the clearing. "Stupid beasts, it's just a bit of fire! We’ve protected you! Keep smashing!"
Rosa watched in horror as the burning troll shook and patted at its head, skin blackening slightly as it lifted its flaming club and struck the gate again.
She took out another vial with trembling hands, not sure what else to do, feeling a hopeless terror welling in her gut.
How is that possible? She thought. How can we stop such creatures? She wondered if Carl was already dead outside those gates, and how long the gate defenders would hold. But she'd do what she could, as long as she could.
Rosa held the next vial of liquid fire and prepared to throw. Maybe with enough it would overcome the things. And she didn’t see any other choice. She met Alex’s eyes, and he gave her the smallest of smiles, putting a hand on her shoulder without a word. She felt her eyes welling with tears because she saw a hopelessness there, an acceptance of their fate.
They both flinched as a boom echoed in the trees. Rosa looked over the ramparts to see several goblins lying on the forest floor as if blasted. Then she choked back the sob and swept the forest with her eyes until she found him, the hopeless terror quenching in her chest.
Mason stepped out from the trees.
