46 – Against the Baron of Corruption

  Andy crept up to the doors, glancing over his shoulder to ensure that Rundle and the others weren’t following. It had taken a little convincing to get the battle-bear to agree to a cautious approach, but he’d relented when Andy promised not to start any fighting without him. When he reached the doors, though, it seemed his caution was for naught; they were locked fast and there were no handles on this side. He figured they’d have to break them down, which would make sneaking impossible.

  He was about to turn and tell the others when he realized the bottom corner of the left-hand door, just below the hinge, was cracked and that there was a sizeable gap—about an inch—between it and the stone wall. Andy fell flat and pressed his eye up to the tiny opening. A vast hall stretched out beyond the door.

  He saw high, arched ceilings illuminated by flickering oil lamps in sconces spaced regularly along the walls. At the far end of the hall stood a long table, at the head of which sat a huge, white-furred ratman. He was easily as large as the zerker-rat, but rather than muscles and iron armor, he was corpulent and clothed in a burgundy robe trimmed in stained white fur. Atop his head sat a crooked silver crown set with orange gemstones that glittered in the lamplight.

  As Andy peered through the gap in the door, the Baron tore a hunk of meat from something that looked like a turkey carcass and stuffed it into its mouth. As he looked around his great hall, Andy saw a certain cruel intelligence in those beady, dark eyes. Something about them gave him pause. He had a feeling that this creature was another level of threat altogether. Besides the Baron, there were other figures milling about at the perimeter of the room—dozens of other ratmen, some the size of blitz-rats, some smaller, and at least one other that looked to be as large as the zerker-rat from the courtyard.

  Andy stared for another minute or two, trying to get an accurate count, but it was difficult; the hole didn’t make seeing the sides of the great hall easy. Satisfied that he’d done his best, he stood and hurried back to the others. As he approached, entering the pool of light thrown by Bea’s spell, Rundle growled a few words in the laukin language.

  Jilly cleared her throat and translated: “Rundle would like to know what you saw, um, Andy.”

  Andy glanced at the others; they wore a mix of eager and grim expressions. He turned back to Jilly and shrugged. “I couldn’t see everything, but the Baron is the size of that zerker-rat from the courtyard, and I think there’s at least one more brute that big in there. On top of that, I counted at least twenty other ratmen and blitz-rats. It’s not going to be easy.”

  “We could try to use the doors as a choke point,” Omar suggested.

  Bella shook her head, though. “We shouldn’t count on that. If the System is treating this as a dungeon challenge, then there’s a good chance the doors are going to close and lock us in there. Anyone still outside might miss the whole fight.”

  Andy could see Jilly was listening, waiting for them to finish their discussion before translating for Rundle, so he said, “I think we should go in together, but I should have my Cloak up—I mean the spell that makes me hard to see. I’ll advance toward the Baron while you all engage the other vermin. Rundle should take on the zerker-rat, assuming that’s what I saw, and Omar and Bella should use their shields to give cover to Lucy and Bea. Like, I think you all should immediately go to a corner of the room near the doors.” He turned back to Jilly. “As for you, I think you should wait out here.”

  “So you’re going to fight the boss alone?” Lucy asked, shaking her head.

  “No, I didn’t say that.” He thought about his words for a second, then continued, “The Baron is the unknown. We can’t afford to leave him loose in the back-line while the other rats swarm us. I’ll keep him busy while you all kill his, um, minions.”

  “Adds,” Bella said.

  Bea looked at Bella, tilting her head. “Adds?”

  Bella nodded. “That’s what they call the minions in a boss fight. You know, they ‘add’ on to the fight to make things harder.”

  “Whatever you want to call them,” Andy said, “I’ll keep the boss busy while you guys deal with the trash.” He grinned at Bella as he said “trash,” and she nodded, smiling. “Anyone object?”

  “I only have three vials of my good healing elixir left,” Bea said, “but if you’ll give me your water skin, I can cast some of my other spells quite a few times.”

  Andy nodded, untying the leather flask from his belt. “Of course.” As he handed it over, he said, “Jilly, will you explain to Rundle?”

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  She ducked her head quickly. “Yes, sir.”

  While she and the battle-bear conversed, Lucy said, “Maybe we should take the time for you to change classes, Andy. You could re-enchant our weapons and some arrows, and—”

  “The last time he did that, it took him a long time,” Bella said, shaking her head.

  Omar nodded, clapping Andy on the shoulder. “We can’t expect the System to leave us alone that long. We’re in the enemy keep, after all. I bet if we stall too long, something is going to happen.” As if to confirm his words, a loud crash echoed down the stairwell from somewhere up above. He chuckled. “See?”

  Andy smiled at Lucy. “It’s not a bad idea, but I agree, Luce. I don’t think we should push our luck.”

  “Isn’t locking ourselves in with creatures like that zerker-rat pushing our luck?” Lucy asked, looking around the group. “I’m not trying to sound like a chicken, but are we sure we’re up for this?”

  Bea stepped closer to Lucy and put her hand on her shoulder, gently squeezing. “I’m nervous too, honey, but we’ve made it this far, and nothing has been too difficult. I think that says we’re strong enough for the final challenge.” She looked at Bella for support, and the fierce, younger woman nodded.

  “That’s how it usually works, yeah.”

  Lucy didn’t look happy as she muttered, “Assuming the System is going to be fair.” She quickly looked at Andy. “You know nothing about all this is fair, right? Think of the kids…” She trailed off, but of course everyone knew what she meant.

  Rundle and Jilly had stopped speaking a while ago, but Andy couldn’t just dismiss Lucy’s feelings. He looked around the group and said, “Listen, as Bea has pointed out before, this isn’t a game. We could die in there.” He nodded to Rundle. “But just like this isn’t a game, I believe Rundle and the laukin in this town are real, too. I mean, we all think that, right?” When no one argued, he added, “So, I think it’s worth the risk to help save them. I’m definitely not going to let Rundle go into that room alone.”

  Lucy didn’t seem convinced at first, and she stared at him while he spoke, but by the time he’d finished, a glint of fierceness had entered her eyes. “You’re right about that much, at least. I couldn’t live with myself if we let him fight alone.”

  “Um, for what it’s worth,” Jilly said, her voice small, “Rundle agrees with your plan, Andy.”

  Andy looked around the group, ensuring he met everyone’s eyes for at least a couple of seconds. “Any last objections?” When no one spoke up, he hefted his spear and started for the doors.

  When they’d all gathered, Andy looked at Rundle and said, “As soon as I cast my spell, go ahead and break them open.” He looked at Omar and Bella. “Get everyone to the left-hand corner.” He nodded in the direction he meant, just to be sure, then finished with, “I’ll create some confusion after I get the Baron’s attention.”

  “I’ll use my Ice Storm, so be careful,” Bea added.

  Andy waited for Jilly to translate, then took a few quick breaths to psyche himself up and cast Cloak of Shifting Smoke. As soon as the warm mana propagated through his body, Rundle reared up on his hind legs and slammed his paws against the wooden portals. Something cracked loudly on the other side, and the doors flew wide. Andy didn’t hesitate, gliding through, padding on silent steps toward the left-hand wall of the large hall.

  He had to focus on avoiding the many ratmen who reacted hysterically to the doors flying open, so he wasn’t sure how things went for the others. One thing was certain: Bella had been right about the doors. They slammed closed with a thunderous boom as the party rushed to their various tasks.

  As he slipped past a pair of blitz-rats, Andy heard Rundle’s roar and the answering bellow of something huge off to the right. He couldn’t help a quick glance toward the sound and, sure enough, saw another zerker-rat, but this one was more lightly armored—a rusted iron-chain vest, spiked iron bracers, and nothing else. He hoped that meant Rundle would have an easier time with it.

  A surprisingly high-pitched series of chitters brought his attention back to the Baron, and he saw the obese ratman leap out of his throne, great folds of fur-covered fat jiggling as it waved its hooked, too-long claws in the air. Andy hadn’t expected the Baron to be a spellcaster, but it looked like he might be. He poured everything into his stealthy dash, hurrying as quickly as possible past a group of ratmen archers.

  When he reached the far end of the table and the Baron was just a few yards away, Andy forced himself to break off and angle around behind him; he wanted his first shot to be the best possible. He was relieved, though, that the gigantic ratman didn’t seem to have noticed him. The Baron raised his arms, waving his claws left and right as he howled chittering commands to his minions.

  Maybe it was his high Perception attribute, or perhaps it was his Critical Mastery, but Andy had the distinct impression that the Baron’s burgundy robe was magical. He couldn’t see any vulnerable targets. The collar of the robe was high on the tall ratman’s back, and Andy didn’t think he’d be able to hit the nape of the Baron’s neck. Looking down, though, he saw that, with the ratman’s gesticulations, the robe moved up and down, occasionally revealing a furry calf and the back of a knee. Andy didn’t hesitate; like a mongoose snatching a cobra’s neck, he darted forward and slid his spear into the crook of the Baron’s right knee.

  The blade slipped through the joint almost effortlessly; the black flames spread into the fur and flesh, and the Baron roared, his voice suddenly much deeper as he stumbled forward. Andy yanked his spear out, pulled it back and prepared a follow-up blow, but then the Baron exploded in a cloud of green gas. Andy stumbled back, gasping, waving a hand in front of his face as he struggled not to inhale the caustic, chlorine-scented air. Squinting through the cloud, he saw the Baron’s corpulent body rippling with massive pustules from which thousands of buzzing, fist-sized insects burst.

  Andy watched in horror as the swarm gathered in the air above the Baron. Their buzzing made him think of gas-powered leaf blowers by the dozens. He knew his time was short as some of the insects peeled off, some toward him, and others toward his friends. Andy clamped his mouth shut, resisting the urge to inhale as he pulled mana into his Cinderstorm Blast spell. Hot mana filled his lungs, and then he coughed out his cloud of burning smoke, hoping for the best.