Fear pounded in Jake’s temples as he led the Destroyer-possessed orc toward the spiral staircase. Would it work? He gulped. Would the Destroyer let Lord Tonvalbortdelan and his steward go?

Jake swallowed hard. He was a Deputy Mage in the Tonvalbortdelan army. He had to keep his lord safe.

Mental intrusion detected.

The beast stomped closer and a clawed hand seized Jake’s shoulder and pulled. Jake froze. The pull itself wasn’t all that strong, but it didn’t have to be, not with the magic the Destroyer could wield.

“If it isn’t there,” it snarled, “you’ll watch them both die slowly.”

Jake took a deep breath, instantly regretting it as a putrid stench filled his nostrils. “The portal stone is there.”

It released its grip, and Jake began descending the spiral staircase. His heart raced. Was showing it to the portal room the right move? Was he betraying the dwarves?

He bit his lip. The choice was made. There was no turning back now.

The Destroyer followed close behind. Did it fear he might run? Jake swallowed. He didn’t know how to use the portal room, and he couldn’t abandon the young lord, anyway.

The heavy footsteps behind stopped, replaced by an ice-cold chuckle. Jake froze, coiled up, and activated Mind Over Body (Strength).

“Good try, Hero, you almost—”

Jake spun, yanked the orc into a bear hug, and hurled them both down the stairs. Adrenaline dulled the pain of hitting stone over and over as they tumbled. Magic strength coursed through his veins and he seized the orc’s hands.

The purple glow of the Destroyer’s eyes flared up and vanished, replaced with the wide-eyed stare of a confused orc. Jake’s heart pounded. Confused or not, the savage orc was still dangerous, still burning brightly under Discern Magic with both Armor and Absorb, and still very much an enemy.

They hit the bottom with Jake on top. He straddled the orc and slammed its head against the ground.

Critical hit! 11 bashing damage dealt! Concussion injury inflicted! Stunned status effect inflicted!

Brawling skill increased 0 → 1!

Another rush of adrenaline. Such power, not just at his fingertips, but in his body itself! He should have used Mind Over Body for strength sooner. He flipped the greenskin over and slammed its face into the stone floor again.

Critical hit! 13 bashing damage dealt! Cracked Skull injury inflicted!

That fucking armor effect. Jake snarled. Without it, he might have been able to smash the skull right open. He pinned the beast’s arms above its head with one hand and squeezed its throat with the other.

Armor or not, the bastard still needed blood flow to its brain. Stun wearing off, it struggled, its 13 Strength fighting against 31. Jake squeezed tighter. A few more seconds…

The orc’s mana gathered. No way that was happening. Jake leaned harder on the orc’s hands, denying them any give at all.

The orc sputtered and gasped out half a word. The spell exploded beneath it, the blast shared between the runed floor and the lingering Absorb effect.

Jake tightened his grip. Nearly there.

It gasped for irrelevant breaths before twitching once, twice, thrice.

The fight faded from the creature. Its muscle gave in, and its body went limp.

Brawling skill increased 1 → 2!

Still not dead, not yet. How long would it stay unconscious? Jake flipped the body over, drew his dagger, and stabbed at its face.

Critical hit! 23 piercing damage dealt! Partially Blinded injury inflicted!

Blood splattered, and the blade punctured its eye. Stupid Armor effect. Why wouldn’t it die already?

Critical hit! 14 piercing damage dealt! Blinded injury inflicted!

Critical hit! 30 piercing damage dealt! Head Wound injury inflicted!

Short Blades skill increased 2 → 3!

More blood splattered everywhere. Jake put a second perk point into Critical Severity and brought the blade down again with all his superhuman strength.

Critical hit! 16 piercing damage dealt! Brain Damage injury inflicted!

Critical hit! 31 piercing damage dealt! Dead injury inflicted!

3,800 XP received!

Level increased 9 → 10!

Jake rolled back his head and let his arms hang at his side. He dropped Mind Over Body and all that strength flooded away. The bloody dagger dropped to the floor. Blood… Blood on his clothes, his hand, his chest, even a few drops in his mouth. Blood everywhere.

He exhaled and looked down at the mangled corpse beneath him. No pool of blood spreading out beneath it, though. He laughed. What else was there to do? Maybe this world was a cesspit of death and war, but at least it had cleaning magic.

No loot. Why bother with weapons when you have that level of magic? Jake struggled up to his feet, popped another point into Intelligence, and headed back up. The battle was still raging elsewhere, and no one would be able to telepathically reach him down here.

The dwarves might have gone a bit overboard on the strength of the Telepathy wards, but thank whatever dwarven gods existed that they had. Were there dwarven gods? Were there even any gods at all in this world other than Death? Not that he was much of a god.

Jake cleaned himself off with a few spells as he walked, but it failed to take away that stench of blood. The bitter, ferrous taste refused to leave his mouth, either. He paused at the top of the stairs.

What now? Idiot or not, Ardic was unfortunately in charge. Nominally in charge, anyway. Jake sighed. Best to check on him.

Luther stormed through the hole where the front gate had been with Orlanda and a dozen soldiers in tow. “Jake!” He saw Jake’s expression and relaxed. “You dealt with it?”

Jake nodded and headed for the war council room, avoiding Orlanda’s gaze. “A savage orc possessed by the Destroyer attacked. I threw him down the stairs, severed the link, and killed the vessel.”

The blood was gone from the walls of the council room, but dismembered body parts still littered the floor. Ardic was slumped against the back wall, while Frieda glared down. The lord looked up and anger flashed in his eyes.

He hauled himself to his feet, drew his battle-axe, and advanced on Jake. “You! You betrayed us!” He gestured wildly around the room. “They held their ground, and then you sold us out to that monster!”

Jake shook his head. Unbelievable. “I removed the threat.”

Ardic’s advance stuttered. “What?”

“The Transcendent Destroyer had possessed the orc. The portal room is warded heavily against Telepathy. I lured it down there, severing the connection and allowing me to kill it.”

The dwarven lord blinked rapidly and looked between Jake and Luther. “Transcendent Destroyer?”

Luther glanced back at the doorway, and the men awkwardly waiting for leadership. “I’ll explain later, my lord. We have a battle to win.”

“A battle. Yes.” Ardic straightened up and took a deep breath. “You.” He pointed at Orlanda. “You’re the new communication hub. I need updates.” He turned on Luther and his scowl twitched. “We’ll discuss your medal for disobedience when the battle’s over.”

A thud shook the ground, then another, and another. Luther frowned. “They’re breaking through the ground below.”

“Go,” Ardic said. “We can’t let them loose in the town. I assume the medics are dead?”

Luther nodded somberly. “Aye, my lord. Jake, come.” He set off at a rapid pace, casting a Divination spell.

Jake walked alongside him, glad again for the Boots of Speed, and the soldiers followed.

“Detect Tremors,” Luther said. “Essential learning for dwarven mages. We’ll find it.”

The tremors continued intermittently as they made their way through the streets, heading in the direction of the tavern. Without a choke point, sheer numbers would overwhelm the dwarven defenses. If they didn’t find the source of these quakes before they broke through…

Jake swallowed. It was all too easy to imagine orcs and goblins slaughtering their way through the city. “How are the battlemages doing?”

“They take zero orders, but they know their stuff. They’ll hold the main gate. No fear at all, even after a few died. They’ll respawn, won’t they?”

“Yeah, back at the Order Temple.” Jake allowed himself half a smile. At least that part of the plan had worked.

They came to a halt at that blasted square. Jake’s fingernails dug into his palms. The stupid statue loomed above. It wobbled on its pedestal as the ground shook, teasing the prospect of it falling to its doom. Not that the damned thing would shatter if it did. It didn’t deserve those protective runes.

“This is it,” Luther said. He barked out orders in Dwarvish and cast a Telepathy spell. “Reinforcements en route, but not many.”

The dozen soldiers they did have formed up into a phalanx. Aside from the awful statue, the square was a wide-open space, perfect for superior numbers. They didn’t have anywhere near enough soldiers to stop the dungeon spawn from swarming the square, and then the city.

Jake’s jaw clenched. “We’ll hold the line.” They had to.

The thudding stopped. Was it over? Had the dungeon spawn abandoned the attack now that the Destroyer’s vessel was gone? A knot twisted in Jake’s gut. No. This was the quiet before the storm.

“Mana,” Luther said quietly. “They’re waiting for mana.” Luther pulled Jake in close to the soldiers and tapped one of them on the shoulder. The tap propagated down the line and the soldiers all moved into as tight a circle as they could manage around Luther and Jake.

Jake nodded. It made sense. No point breaking through to the surface empty on mana. At least that gave time to prepare. He cast a long duration, low potency Protection/Area-Aegis/Armor, wincing a little at the state of it. He’d neglected to update the spell lately, but surrounded by allies wasn’t the time for rebuilding what was already a rather complicated spell.

Luther cast a Telepathy/Area/Communicate spell, establishing a group call that included both of them, plus the soldiers. That was followed by an Absorb from Jake and a Heal from Luther. Pitifully low potency, but every little might be the difference between life and death.

“Do you think the Transcendent Destroyer will take another host?” Jake asked.

Luther frowned. “Impossible to know. We found little information in the records, but we did find agrees with—” he paused and spat at the ground “—Yana. I pray we are wrong.” Reform the line.

The soldiers resumed their positions, ready to face whatever might burst out of the ground. They had to know they weren’t enough, but they did it anyway.

It was the Destroyer that had possessed that orc. Jake bit his lip. What made him so certain of that? Something about the murals, maybe? He took a deep breath. A problem for another time. “There’s plenty of dungeon spawn. If it could take another vessel easily, why not walk through the front door?”

“Agreed.” Luther’s frown didn’t fade an inch. “I doubt we’ll fight it again today, but it won’t fall for the same trick twice.”

The world shook. A fifty-foot crack broke through the middle of the stone plaza. The statue tilted and lurched, only just remaining upright.

Jake’s breath quickened. This was it. Bang! The crack widened into a crevice. Another bang, and the crevice became a twenty-foot-deep canyon easily wide enough for a couple of burly men. Light flickered at the bottom, betraying the existence of a tunnel.

Don’t let them out, Luther ordered.

A wave of goblins poured into the canyon, each faintly shimmering teal—Armor buffs. The lightly armored goblins leaped onto the canyon walls and climbed.

Shit. Jake pulled on his mana, formed a Fire/Projectile-Area/Ignite spell, and hurled it into the canyon.

106 fire damage dealt!

81 fire damage dealt!

236 fire damage dealt!

251 fire damage dealt!

244 fire damage dealt!

192 fire damage dealt!

Luther’s fireball hit a moment later, incinerating the screaming survivors. The vanguard was dead, but more were coming. They couldn’t keep this up.

The dwarven soldiers lined the edge with spears pointed down. They would have been a whole lot more impressive without the three-yard gaps between each of them.

We need to seal the tunnel, Jake said.

Agreed. Luther’s lips pressed together as he stared down into the canyon. They’ll have fortified it.

But not the top.

Luther stared up at Jake, his mouth slightly ajar while his hands kept casting a Fire spell. We can’t replace those runes.

Can you replace the dead?

A grim resolve hardened in Luther’s expression. He hurled another fireball into the pit, glanced around, and set off at a sprint. I’ll break the rune. Be ready.

Scorched remains littered the bottom of the canyon, but more goblins were already climbing. Time was short indeed.

Jake scanned the square for an appropriate projectile. Something big, but not so big he couldn’t lift it. Ideally, protected by runes so it wouldn’t shatter on impact, but not anything connected to the ground.

His gaze settled on the only appropriate object available.

Oh, the irony.