I stared at the burnt strand of hair for far too long, the scenario running through my head like my body was stuck on reboot. The whole concept of magic was still new to my brain and I had to rationalize what happened. I had to remind myself that Rolada was alive and well. She was now probably sitting down for dinner with her mother and a glass of wine, while I, on the other hand, might not live to see tomorrow.

“What is this?” the undead knight scoffed, stamping his boot onto the hair, grinding it to dust. “Another fox trick. I must applaud your talents for finding suitable underlings, keeper.”

“Underlings?” I snarled. I forced myself to calm down, perhaps there was an easier way out of this. “You lost a lot of troops in the opening attack, why not call this battle a draw?”

The blazing sword dimmed and the fires waned, eventually snuffing out. The undead knight regarded me, his heavy enclosed helmet blocking my view of everything with the exception of the fiery pits in his hollow eye sockets.

“Ah, a diplomat. You remind me of the witch who once wore your cloak. But should I call it a draw if I am winning?” he asked. He drove the tip of his sword into the ground and faced Sir Harrsal the wight captain who was locked in battle. “Let us observe as commanders for the moment.”

Bent, Burn and Sten were picking apart a shield wall of a skeleton legion. The undead men moved as one, thrusting spears towards my allies, but failing to land any meaningful damage. Bent and Sten would retaliate, stepping in to take out one, or throwing fallen weapons to disrupt the formation. They managed to push them back enough Burn was able to run into the wrecked workshop and lob flaming bottles out into the skeletons.

Yara and Lin were duelling the wight captain with little success. He always managed to block Yara’s prodding attacks and could turn on a dime to force Lin back. Around him I saw the ground freeze, Yara’s blade gathering ice and Lin’s lips turning blue.

Lin tried to force a quick fight, parrying the icy sword and moving in to strike but the wight breathed out a cold gale of wind that sent Lin onto the ground and shoved her back. The wight couldn’t hit her in the traditional sense, but his aura was taxing her.

“Your man is skilled,” I said, trying to act like I knew what I was doing.

“My second cousin, and a most loyal man to the flames of devotion of our god. I must also commend your two fighters, Sir Harrsal has a rather fine blend of martial talents that make him quite the adversary. I expect as much from the demoness but the pet cat is a surprise,” he said.

I let that comment on Lin slide, though it did irk me. I had the urge to sock him in the mouth, but that would only lead to me losing an arm. My sides ached, my ears still hurt from the explosions and I was exhausted. If a small chat with the enemy leader could let me eke out another spell or two I’d have to play nice for the moment.

“If your god is one of fire, why does he have all ice magic?” I asked.

The undead knight laughed, not in a villainous way like I expected, but a wheezing knee slapping kind of way. He rolled his shoulders and gestured to Sir Harrsal who was in the midst of casting his ice spear spell. “He demanded a few low level talents of magic from the witch, and she had quite the sense of humour.”

It may have been the Go Berries affecting me, or just for curiosity's sake, but I wanted to know more about this witch. Yara and Lin were giving the wight a wide berth, and the others seemed to have gotten the skeleton legion under control. “That was her tower I…broke, it was kind of an accident.”

The knight nodded and turned back to me, taking up his great sword once more. “It can be rebuilt, a nation can be reforged, and I shall see glory brought to my name. Now where is that pesky little fox I need to slay.”

“Hey now, we are becoming fast friends, and since it’s going to be just Harrsal and you, I’m willing to let you go.” I said nervously. “For the record, she's around.”

Deception : Critical Success!

+5 XP gained.

New talent available!

“Amusing, but her kind are crafty, I should assume as such. Now tell me the name of the man I’m about to slay,” the knight said, his voice becoming harsh again, and pointed his blade towards my heart.

“J-Joshua Hale, I didn’t catch yours,” I said, quickly spacing myself from him even more.

“Well met Lord Hale, I am Lord Gastov, and now we shall fight as proper lords,” he said, flourishing his greatsword as if it was as light as air.

The prompt to swap character info came up, so I bit the bullet to see what I was up against.

Lord Gastov, Undead Human, Moderate Size, Level 9 Deathguard

“Searing Smite!” he shouted, stepping forward and swung the flaming sword in a wide, viscous arc.

I wasn’t interested in fighting as a proper lord. As soon as he came at me I jumped, arcing up high into the air, and his sword impacted where my feet had just been. It would have cleaved me in two if it had hit me. Mid air I twisted myself around, held out a hand and tapped the pommel of the sword on my cloak’s gem.

“Gust!” I shouted.

Snow, soot and slush kicked up into Lord Gastov’s face. The rush of wind didn’t even phase him, but the debris gave me a smoke screen and it tarnished his gear. My foe wasn’t too pleased and gave chase, but the icy aura of the wight captain had spread, chilling more of the ground into black ice. The sound of crashing steel sounded behind me. I hit the ground, slipped, and crashed right into a mangled wall and heard glass shatter.

I searched around and spotted Bent who was carrying a badly hurt Burn, while Sten, Lin and Yara gave them the chance to get to the dungeon. A chilling realization struck me, the gnomes, waves of undead and even the quick spar had all been to break us down. Because now marching across the fields of debris was their win condition. Cannon fodder was probably easy to replace for them, and only now did they bring in the elite troops.

Heavy infantry marched in formation with poleaxes, greatswords and mauls. Their heavy armour of plates, ringmail and padded reinforcements showed signs of age and wear, but would still be formidable to get past. Worst of all, behind them was a line of black cloaked undead I remembered from the crypts, the priests, and now they held staves with coiling snakes of fire.

Lord Gastov brought his troops to a halt as my allies retreated towards the dungeon, hacking away at the weaker skeletons still pestering them. He pointed at me with his greatsword and called out. “By the morrow one of us shall be at the god’s table. Fight well, Keeper Josh, and I shall remember you.”

It was one of those critical moments in your life when it seems the whole world was watching you, waiting for you to rise to the occasion. It was these moments where I always froze, but I took a risk and blurted the first thing that came to mind.

“Get off my fucking lawn,” I said, flipping him off and sent a spark of flame off my finger tip.

I sprinted towards the dungeon and jumped down into the trap door as their priests shot globs of fire at me from their flaming staves. The globs twisted into long rays of fire and blasted holes in the far side of the storage building. It must be a more advanced version of my own spell, because they had the force of cannon balls and the entire roof collapsed afterwards.

Burn rasped, blood trickling down the corner of his mouth. “Shit, this is it for me. Bent drop me and save-”

“Shut yer fucking trap goblin. You're getting out of this with us,” Sten swore, tearing open his pouches and taking out broken shards of glass. One cracked potion had a thimble full of liquid in it and he attempted to administer it. “Anyone have a potion?”

Yara’s and Lin’s potions had frozen and shattered from the cold aura, and I grimly picked at my pouches finding only wet string and two squished Go Berries. Yara put a hand on Burn’s head and shut her eyes, only to growl a moment after.

“Ishaka’s finest my ass, I’m an idiot,” Yara beat the brow of her helm with her knuckles. “I burned too much mana and I’m three points shy of saving him. Fucking heavens and hells, healing magic is always useless.”

I gave Sten my potions shards as he poured the bits of liquid he had into a flask in desperation. The others did the same and only now did I get a closer look at their wounds. Bent, Sten and Burn who got the worst of it were covered in patches of dark, discoloured skin. Purple and red snaking lines dotted the patches and from them seeped drops of blood.

Knowledge Arcane : Partial Success!

Necrotic attacks leave scars that weep blood and hinder the afflicted with debuffs. This style of magic is extra effective on living targets and is commonly utilized by undead casters. Removing the affliction typically requires an equally powerful cure, either from a divine caster or special brews.

I looked down at my shaking hand and balled it into a fist. Smoke seeped out between my fingers and formed the ring of binding Yara and I shared. I popped a Go Berry into my mouth and checked my own reserve. The mint taste was becoming overpowering and made my eyes water. The lining in my mouth felt it was starting to flake off and I knew I was not going to enjoy the crash.

Current Mana Points : 2/7

Current Keeper Crystal Mana Points : 5/5

Current Cloak Gem Mana Points : 2/3

I stretched my hand towards the wall, and called for the crystal to come to me. A tendril shot out of the wall, wrapped around my wrist and delivered enough energy into my body it might as well have tased me. I was driven to one knee and felt the flood of pure mana course through my magical veins.

Current Mana Points : 7/7

Current Keeper Crystal Mana Points : 0/5

Current Cloak Gem Mana Points : 2/3

“This stupid rock,” Lin snarled, hacking away at the tendril. “Let him go!”

The tendril was undamaged and retreated back into the wall before drilling towards the surface. Others were joining it and the walls began to shake as the crystal churned the streets above to slow the attackers. The entrance tunnel was feeling cramped with so many of us there, and the dust falling down made it feel even more claustrophobic.

“Yara, give me your hand,” I coughed, reaching out to her.

Yara was tying bandages onto the burn in vain and snapped at me. “I’m busy!”

“Please,” I pleaded, getting Lin to help me hobble over. “To help him.”

Yara grabbed my forearm in a fierce crushing grip, a gentle reminder of her greater strength. As I had done so on the night of possession, I focused on wanting to help Yara, and then a wave of exhaustion ebbed at my chemically induced alertness. Energy flowed out of my palm into Yara’s, draining me, and empowering her for the moment.

I figured giving her five mana points for good measure was the best thing to do, and the very moment the transfer was complete Yara broke the grip. She darted up to Bent, the shocked, battered, bleeding and teary eyed ogre holding his friend closely to his chest. Yara touched Burn’s shoulder with the gentle care of a saint and spoke at a mile a minute. The magic did its work and Burn gasped as his injuries evaporated away, bringing him back to us.

“That’s a-” Burn hacked, sending spittle across his torn clothes. “What a waste of good mana, I’m useless here guys.”

The sour goblin was still hurt, but could stand on his own legs. As Bent set him down ,he crossed his arms to glare at us and we let out a collective sigh of relief. The calm was short lived as another explosion rocked the roof.

“Burn,” I said, clenching my teeth. “How many bombs?”

“Uh, best you don’t know boss,” Burn said. He faced Yara who right now was helmetless and was biting down on one of the white sticks. The goblin blushed and sheepishly held out a hand. “Thanks a ton buddy, I would have been a goner for sure. I owe you my life.”

“Yeah, don’t mention it,” Yara said, brushing past the others to head towards the dungeon. “Let’s go.”

“No really, thanks-” Burn’s voice died in his throat as Yara snarled. “Never mention it again, got it.”

We followed the main tunnel and found hurriedly made corridors, twisting it into new directions. Above us the ground kept shaking, both from the bombs and the crystal using whatever powers it had to slow the enemy.

We got so turned around I wondered if we were lost in a maze when a wall moved beside us to reveal a hidden room and we entered. It was a newly made room with a supply of wood and nails, with Carter hammering out furniture.

The spacious but low ceiling room had only a handful of lights and from what I could see nearly all the furniture the minions had made was in here. Only the really expensive stuff we bought was absent and on my mess hall chair was the book from the tower. They had it propped open to the last few pages, where images of chairs with lines of magical formula surrounded them.

“What are you guys making?” I asked as we entered.

“Ro-la-da!” George cried, running up to me and pulled at my hand. “Why?”

I crouched down and patted his head to reassure him. “It’s alright George, she had to use magic to escape. She is safe with her mother, probably having a hot meal and telling her about her friends.”

George was distraught and Lin took him aside to reassure him Rolada was perfectly safe. I looked around to see the rest of the minions dragging in a few remaining foot stools from the bathing room and a training dummy. In the middle was Dan, he was directing them, encouraging them and I felt hope fill me as he drew near.

Aura of Leadership

All skill checks are increased by +1

Crafting skills receive an additional +1

As the minions brought the furniture to Carter I saw our carpenter look at the book from the tower, carve a few runes into the backs of them, and send them to carry it to the wall. Two tendrils were poking out of the stone and were tapping the runes, sending a drop of mana into each, turning them alive. The chairs, tables and stools would then run towards the entrance and get into line, and now I saw the furniture wasn’t being organized, it was in formation.

Down the corridor we had just come from I heard crumbling rock and I narrowed my eyes. I could see through the walls and in one spot between pipes and tendrils was a void, going to the surface. They had broken in.

“How many traps did you lads get done?” Sten asked, spitting blood and gunk onto the floor. “I’m still good for a scrap or two, but wouldn’t mind the herd getting thinned.”

Dan looked at the rest of his fellow minions then faced Sten. “Yes.”

“No, how many,” Sten stressed.

Dan held up all four arms and all his digits. He looked at his appendages and ordered the rest of the minions in line to raise theirs too, and still they lacked enough. Behind us I heard a distant click, followed by the whistle of bolts, and then crashing rocks. Whatever they had done, they bought us a few minutes of respite.

Sten grumbled to forget it and we all formed a loose circle in the room. Chairs ran up behind us and let us lower ourselves down to take a second to compose ourselves. I faced the others, seeing hopeful, but tired looks. Even Lin was worn out, panting heavily and dabbing her frost covered scarf onto her brow.

Frank, with his dust covered body, came up to us with a clean tray of clay cups. “Wotah.”

We each picked up a cup from him with confused looks and saw crystal clear, cool, refreshing water. We drank it all in a heartbeat and before we had them back on Frank’s tray, Mike ran up with another tray full.

“Thank you guys,” I said to the minions. I faced my team after getting my fill and huffed. “Well, things could be better.”

“Number?” Yara asked, wisps of red smoke came out of her mouth as the remaining bits of the white stick vanished behind her teeth.

Lair Action : Detect creatures in region

Undead 99

“Just broke under a hundred. I have a plan however,” I said.

Everyone leaned forward expectantly, and a minion brought us snacks to cram into our hungry bellies. The whole experience was strange, having a quick bite to eat in what felt like a bomb shelter. I grabbed a nearby chunk of wood and felt my chair bent its legs to let me get closer to the ground. I scratched into the dirt on the floor to show them my plan.

“When I was experimenting with the weather controls, remember that one day I accidentally made fog roll into the town?” I asked.

“And I got lost on my way to my workshop, yeah,” laughed Burn.

“We go to the keeper pool room since there's that extra entrance we hid. I’ll make fog roll in, and Scott will lead you guys along the river towards Wyrmbreath. Once I detect you are all out of range I’ll stop the fog, grab the crystal and run down the minecart tunnel,” I said.

“To the forgotten?” Sten and Burn spat.

“Absolutely not,” Yara said, clamping down on my wrist and hovering near my ear. “Remember how easily I carried you? You're with us.”

“You all need the fog to escape,” I said. “Take the minions with you guys, I’ll be fine.”

“Josh, this is a big gamble. We can sneak out easily, and can pick off any small scouting party before the main force catches up…but are you sure?” Lin asked nervously. Her cat ears flattened down and she looked at me with pained concern. “Can we really trust them?”

“That sage put in a good word for me with Icharn, and let's not forget that's why you have your super awesome talent. Which don’t think we didn’t notice you showing off,” I said. “Besides, they owe me lunch. I’m sure I can talk to the sage,and ask to be led to Wyrmbreath. I’ll even pay for dinner when we meet up there.”

There was resistance to my plan, and even I had to admit it was kind of a dumb idea overall. However, it had the best chance to make sure they were all safe, and as the dust continued to fall into our bite sized sandwiches I knew we had to act.

“I’m staying with you, it's my job,” Yara said firmly, her magenta eyes ablaze with ferocity.

“You're going with them, why do you think I gave you extra mana? If someone gets hurt on the way you might have enough to stitch them up to get to Wyrmbreath. Rolada’s safe, we saved Burn and if all goes well we can eat dinner at a nice inn,” I said. “You are probably our strongest fighter, and I need you with the main group.”

A heavy shock sent fist sized chunks of rock down onto the ground and the hidden door opened. The furniture marched out, running down the path we had just taken to meet the enemy head on, and our chairs started to wiggle under us, telling us it was time to go.

“Drinks for all too,” Sten said.

“New clothes?” Bent asked, poking his finger out a few tears in his shirt.

“A few supplies to get an alchemist back on his feet?” Burn asked.

Dan flicked his hand and a chest full of all our coins from the loan and trade appeared. He opened it to show the funds, then tapped it, turning it into smoke and adding it to his minion inventory. I was handed back my demon book and after putting it in my bag I saw Yara and Lin were apprehensive.

“We can claim the minions are my distant wild cousins to get them in. It will work like a charm,” Burn laughed.

“I want a spa day then, and I’m dragging you with me. Not one moment out of my sight after this,” Yara said, jabbing me with a finger.

Lin clapped her hands, pulled me into a hug and kissed me. The short kiss was a mix of emotion, dust and the taste of mint, mixed with gas. She broke the kiss as I started to lean into her, and she wrapped an arm around my neck to put me into a headlock.

“You fail again. Now what I want is us to go to the maid place, and you're going to let me have whatever desserts I want,” Lin said, rubbing her knuckles into my hair.

“Fine, sure, whatever! This is life or death guys!” I managed to get out of the headlock and faced Dan. “Lead us to the pool.”

The minions led us to another hidden door, and down a new set of cramped tunnels. They were shorter and Bent had to pretty much crawl to traverse them. We reached a space that opened up into the lower level of our dungeon and was beside the crystal room. Dan opened the door, and inside, the crystal was glowing, illuminating the world around it in vivid purple hues. The room was hot, dry and smelled like an electric motor that was burning out. Dan then took us to a side passage they made, and we found ourselves at the keeper pool.

The pool was boiling, vapours rose off it and I could see the level had dropped several feet. It was still a huge pool with plenty of liquid remaining, but I could see the crystal was working overtime. I focused on the pool and thought of a foggy morning, hoping it would work as intended.

“Alright, no time for chat, get going,” I said, hovering near the passage to the crystal. “Meet at the maid tavern by nightfall.”

I heard farewells, and the minions led the way with Bent, Burn and Sten hurrying behind them, still ready for a fight. Lin and Yara however hesitated, both of them facing me and an unspoken agreement passed between us. If I got myself killed they were both going to kick my ass.

Yara pushed Lin towards the escape, pointed to her eyes, then me, before catching up. I felt the heat of crystal beat at my back, the strange smelling vapor in the pool room made my eyes water and my nerves sent my anxiety into overdrive.

“We can do this, everyone is alive, and all we lost was a couple of nice bedrooms,” I mumbled to myself. “Also all our food storage, nice things and…Josh damn it, just chill.”

Things could be replaced, friends couldn’t. I busied myself watching the undead numbers tick down one at a time. In five minutes we had already cut them down to thirty, and I was feeling confident my friends would be fine. Even if Lord Gastov had a few reserves watching for escapees, one or two tough foes were much easier to deal with than a dozen. Yara could probably one shot a priest or heavy warrior with just a single smite.

Lair Action : Detect creatures in region

Undead 28

Human 1

I focused on the pool and ended the weather effect. They made it, they were free and would be safe. I breathed a sigh of relief. Now all I had to do was somehow grab the crystal which was now making the air catch on fire around it, and run.

The ceiling burst open, five skeletal priests crashed into the pool and dissolved away in seconds, their magical items bursting into sparks. Then to my dismay a hole was blasted into the far wall, and marching out of the maze of fresh tunnels was Lord Gastov and a battered Sir Harrsal. Now between me and freedom were ten heavy skeleton warriors, two priests, the boss and his right hand man.

I was back on the world’s stage, and I sighed. “Well fuck.”