Chapter 26 – Slaughter
Albert Chorlus
The giant leader of the bandit group I had allied myself with approached me. I made sure not to shrink back at his approach. I was a large man, but he was a mountain, and more importantly, he had levels. His mere presence unnerved me, but I couldn't let it show. I couldn't let him see me as weak.
“You ready?” he asked me in a gruff tone.
“For what?”
“The farce you wanted. Are you ready to drive me off and save this dump of a town you're so fond of? Are you ready to earn the peoples' admiration?”
“Yes,” I spoke confidently, “but are we not waiting until after you have the core?”
“No, it'll be more effective this way. Lump, you're in charge. Scratch, you know what to do.”
Without waiting for a response, he began moving back toward Firmsoil Village. I paused only for a moment. I couldn't hesitate, not in front of the brigands and murderers present. Weakness could set them off, and if that happened, I wasn't sure I'd be keeping my head. I followed.
It didn't take long for us to reach our destination. I was told to go ahead and to meet him back at the edge of the forest when I was done. I obliged.
I found my way to the local tavern. Adventurers liked taverns. I didn't know much about them as a whole, but I knew that much, and as dinner time approached, I was sure at least some would be there. I wasn't disappointed as I slammed the door open and fell into my act. There were a few faces inside that I recognized from that abhorrent day, back when I had my position stolen from me. It was perfect. Them jumping into action would attract the crowd I needed.
“Help! Come quick! Bandits are assailing the Dungeon. They're after its core.”
Several people in the room shot to their feet. My hook was set. Now, it was time to reel it in. I turned on the spot and hollered over my shoulder, “This way!”
I heard orders being called out behind me as I rushed off. I caught a glimpse of people following and smiled. This was it. All of my preparations were about to pay off.
As I returned to the location of the leader of the Troll Tusk Bandits, I readied myself. He was standing there, war axe raised. I, in turn, drew my own blade and charged at him. It was time to remind these fools why they had followed me for so long. It was time to cement myself as the local folk hero.
I raised my weapon and brought it down, initiating our mock battle. In the next instant, my weapon was torn from my grasp as the giant cleaved it with his weapon. My eyes went wide, and I managed a confused, “Huh?” before he planted his foot in my chest.
I flew backward, skidding across the ground and crashing into a tree. I felt my ribs crack from the impact. Staring at the man, my jaw dropped.
Have I been betrayed? Why?
It was the only thing that made sense, but I couldn't understand it. I had delivered on my end. I had given the man everything he could want, served to him on a golden platter, so why would he turn on me here? What had changed? Was my gambit a failure?
A scene unfolded in front of me as I laid there limply. A moth insectinoid with four daggers in her hands ducked a swing from the hulking figure's weapon. She then stabbed all of her blades into his chest. They scratched his plate armor, but he didn't so much as budge. She jumped back just in time to narrowly dodge another swing of his axe.
“I've got to thank ya Al. You've been a big help, you know.”
My mouth went dry as he addressed me. Any chance of this being part of the charade was gone with those words. My mind went blank. I just watched as he knocked the sword of a human man aside and spoke.
“Not only did you provide us with fodder, you brought us some people worth killing. We should be able to get our weaker members' levels up thanks to you. This is gonna be good.”
As if on cue, an arrow shot from the forest and planted itself in the neck of one of the rookie adventurers assembled. They fell to the ground, dead, and someone screamed a shrill cry of terror at the sight. This wasn't what was supposed to happen.
“Get him!” someone roared.
The group of onlookers collapsed on the imposing figure, but it made no difference. They couldn't get in close due to the danger his axe presented. A few of the weaker ones were cleaved in two with little to no effort. The only thing preventing the same fate from befalling the others was that he seemed to aiming for nonlethal wounds. The reason why clicked into place as two armed figures came running out of the forest. They were the ones he was trying to give the experience to. He was just softening them up.
A blast of electricity exploded on the bandit chief. It did more damage than anything else so far, but that wasn't saying much. The mage who fired the spell, a gnome by the looks of it, stepped forward and took command of the situation, “Everyone, form ranks, melee fighters up front and ranged in the back. We can do this!”
“Ha!” the giant laughed, “If you play your cards right, maybe you can, but while you're here dealing with us, the rest of the Troll Tusk Bandits are laying siege to your precious Dungeon. If you don't do anything about that, this town is done for anyway.”
The gnome froze for a moment before addressing the swordsman who attacked before him, “Lance, can you hold him off?”
“For a bit, I think.”
“You do that. Flur, Muri, Boulder, Chris, Izzy, come with me. We're going to the Dungeon.”
“What about me?” an orc woman demanded.
“Oct, you're so drunk that I don't even know how you're standing. In the state you're in, you'd be nothing but a hindrance. Stay back and maybe help out here once you've sobered up.”
“But–”
“No buts! Everyone, let's get moving. You guys hold out here until the branch head arrives. Please, tell me someone has already gone to fetch him. Actually, Oct, you go just in case. He should be at the Baron's residence.”
With those words, he took off, and several people followed, a few shooting the girl sympathetic looks as they went. None of the marauders made any move to stop them.
“Now that that's decided, where was I?” the leader asked, mostly to himself, “Oh yeah, levels. Darwin, finish some of these sacks of experience off. He's probably not worth all that much, there's a perfectly good target still laying over there.”
It took me a moment to realize that he was talking about me. When that realization sank in, I panicked.
“Wait,” I pleaded, “We had a deal! I gave you what you wanted! Didn't you say you liked me!”
A moment later, my pleas were cut short as I felt something impact against my head. I collapsed into a heap on the ground, my vision blurring. The last thing my brain registered before the darkness overtook me was his response, “I did like you. You gave us a good opportunity.”
* * *
Cameron
The group of invaders moved swiftly, passing through my fake core room. There was nothing in it to slow them down. I had opened up the way into my next room ahead of time, so they moved straight for there. That was okay. I was in no immediate rush to deal with them, so I used my brief respite to skim through my recently gained achievements.
[Achievement: Wildfire
Description: A section of your Dungeon has caught on fire.
Reward: You have unlocked the ability to create fire as an environment!]
[Achievement: Burn
Description: One of your monsters has killed an individual with mundane fire.
Reward: The monster species and its evolutions have gained a minor resistance to fire!]
[Achievement: Asphyxiation
Description: An individual in your Dungeon has died from suffocation.
Reward: You have unlocked the ability to create wind currents as an environment!]
[Achievement: Discord
Description: 10 members of the mortal races have been killed by other members of the mortal races within your Dungeon.
Reward: All mental effects inflicted by your Dungeon are +5% more effective!]
Minor resistance to fire was situational, and I didn't have anything that could inflict mental effects. The two additional environment options were interesting. I could definitely find a use for them, but they weren't immediately helpful. I pushed the notifications aside and turned my attention to the group entering my new room.
Their hurried steps halted suddenly as the people in the lead went from running across stone to trudging through water. The submerged ground grabbed hold of their feet and provided resistance as they tried to pull free, slowing them down further. They were in my new bog testing ground.
The water was roughly a foot deep on average and interspersed with patches of moss, flowers, and other vegetation that made it difficult to tell where the water started, where it ended ended, and how deep it was in any given spot. It was a slog to trudge through and was a host to many unseen dangers. It was time for my newly modified monsters to get some exercise.
Slowly, the group began crossing the room. That was when my first surprise made itself known. One of the people carrying a torch, a beastkin woman, had made her way to the front of the group. Many of the others were sticking close by her, relying on her light source to see. That made it all the more effective when they unknowingly walked into a patch of gas that I had been condensing. It exploded violently.
[Achievement gained: Chemist!]
[Achievement: Chemist
Description: An individual in your Dungeon has died from a chemical reaction.
Reward: You have unlocked an item or piece of equipment related to alchemy!]
[Item: Cauldron
Cost: 20 (10) MP
Description: An iron cauldron intended to be used for alchemy.
Effect: When provided with a source of heat, can be used to combine alchemical ingredients.]
I dismissed the notification as unhelpful. It wasn't anything that could give me an edge in the current situation, so it was something to worry about later. More important was the explosion itself. It only killed a single individual, but it sent most of the ground sprawling. That was the signal for my monsters to go.
As the group scrambled to get their heads above water, my Shadow Vipers made their way through the water unseen and struck. They used their increased body size and strength to restrict the invaders and keep them stuck in the water as they stacked their bites. It was an idea that the perk I was forced to pass up on had inspired. It didn't take long for the enemies to start dropping, succumbing to the poison and their already present injuries.
[Achievement gained: Toxic!]
[Achievement: Toxic
Description: 10 individuals have died in your Dungeon from poison.
Reward: All monsters gain +1 to VIT!]
After each of my four snakes got their kill, they fled back into the safety of the bog. The dozen remaining people were heavily injured and shell-shocked. It was the first time I had seen any of them give pause instead of rushing forward without so much as a thought spared for their lives. It probably didn't help that the group only had one torch left among them. Their course of action was decided when that individual, an haggard old lady, wailed, “I'm not going through that! This isn't worth it. I'm out!” before turning tail and running.
The rest of followed, and I heaved an inward sigh of relief.
It looks like everything turned out okay.
“I think there will be repercussions for this, but I'm glad you're safe,” Fabian added as we watched the group retreat.
Then, as they made it half-way through the second room, my mind stopped working. The sight wasn't something I could comprehend. The room was filled to the brim with people. They weren't the same filthy, disheveled people that I had just been fighting off. They were armored, armed to the teeth, and had seemingly taken no casualties as one of the two Bloodthorn Vines in the room hung limply from the ceiling in the middle of them. They slaughtered the remains of the first group in cold blood and carried on.
Well, fuck.