Chapter 75: Turning the Tables

I watched Gnat fly up to the ceiling and hoped I had done the right thing.

But I knew I had no other choice. I had to pacify the Master in some manner and keep Stayne off my back. Direct confrontation with Gnat was ill-advised which only left co-opting the Master’s aid.

At least for now.

I needed time. Time to deal with Saben and Sigmar, and time to find another way out the damn sector. And then perhaps, I could risk the Master’s wrath.

The familiar disappeared from sight. Slipping into the shadows, I made my way back to the safe zone cavern. Gnat had promised he would not be gone long, and that on his return he would find me. It seemed that our Pact allowed him to home into my location from anywhere.

Back in the cavern, I saw that the position of the two gang squads had not changed. I found it curious that neither Saben or Sigmar had joined in on the gang’s hunt for Bornholm, but was grateful nonetheless for their inactivity. Hugging the wall, I crept past the east ramp and the squad accompanied by Goral, and slipped into the north tunnel without incident.

The passage stretched out before me, as barren and as pitch-black as before. The tension in my shoulders eased. I still had a mammoth task ahead of me, but being enfolded by darkness made everything seem possible. I tiptoed through the tunnel with my senses extended, but encountered no obstacles, at least not until I reached the chokepoint.

The guard post was manned again.

There were four guards on watch, two mages, and a pair of fighters. While the guards were relaxed, there was no talking amongst them, and they appeared alert. The half-wall of loot chests had been removed too, and the illumination in the area increased. Magelights floated above both mages, supplementing the torches’ light with magic. So they are learning to fear the dark, I thought. Good.

Neither of the fighters was heavily armed. Both were dressed in leather armor and bore swords or daggers on their hips. Reaching out with my will, I cast analyze.

The target is Darnell, a level 11 elf.

The target is Martin, a level 12 human.

The target is Susa, a level 11 lizardman.

The target is Cathar, a level 13 elf.

I bit at the inside of my lip, wondering if I should retreat. It was the safer course, but if I managed to charm one—or even two—guards, and kill another in the process, I thought the encounter was winnable. Though even if my attack was a complete success, at some point the guards would be missed and the gang alerted to my presence.

Still, the opportunity to rearm myself could not be ignored. I might not get a better chance than this.

It’s worth the risk, I thought and slipped further back into the shadows, about as far back I could go while still retaining line of sight to the guards. Picking my target, I cast simple charm.

Darnell has failed a mental resistance check! You have charmed your target for 10 seconds.

I smiled as the spell worked on the first attempt, and the elven fighter fell under my control. “Attack,” I whispered, directing my new minion’s efforts toward his fellow fighter—the human.

Darnell unsheathed his longsword and buried it into his target’s torso. The human fighter screamed and stumbled away. The blow wasn’t fatal though.

“He’s here,” Martin gasped. He pressed one hand against his side, and with his other, he drew a shortsword. “Leave Darnell to me! You two find the bastard!”

I pursed my lips. My minion’s initial attack had been less successful than I hoped. Still, despite the human fighter’s brave words, I thought he was too badly injured to prevail against the charmed elf. Turning my attention to the mages, I began casting again.

The pair had spun about and were scanning the darkened passage, but I was too well hidden for them to spot. Unfortunately, that was not the only action they took. The two magelights, fixed above the spellcaster’s position, bobbed forward to search the passage.

Two hostile entities have failed to detect you!

My trepidation increased as the magical orbs drew closer, brightening the shadows surrounding me, but I thought I had enough time to finish my spell and didn’t break off from my casting.

A moment later, my preparations completed and I reached out with my mind to the lizardman, attempting to subvert his will.

You have failed to charm your target. You may not bewitch more than one target at a time with simple charm. Your mental intrusion has been detected!

I cursed under my breath. The spell’s limitation caught me off guard, leaving my plan in tatters. With all four guards alive and with the magelights still advancing, I had no choice but to retreat. I rose to my feet and fled back down the tunnel.

Two hostile entities have failed to detect you!

The bobbing searchlights had drawn closer, but even in the tunnel’s new half-light my sneaking was high enough to remain undetected—at least for now. Another pair of Game messages dropped in my mind.

Your minion has been critically injured!

Your minion has killed Martin.

The unexpected report caused me to pause in my step. It changed the complexion of the encounter: one guard was down and another badly wounded. Dare I go back? I wondered.

Now that the guards were aware of my presence, retreating was just as dangerous as returning to the fight. If I kept fleeing, the mages would likely pursue me all the way back to the safe zone. If that happened, I would be in serious trouble.

Better to face the mages, I decided.

Spinning about, I raced towards the spellcasters, forgoing stealth altogether as I hurtled through their magelights.

Two hostile entities have detected you!

“There he is!”

“Freeze him!”

Expecting an attack, I bobbed and weaved. To further confound the mages’ aim, I drew on my psi again to cast one-step.

You have failed to one-step.

Predictably, I failed to cast the spell the first time, but I persisted in my efforts and eventually managed the casting. The spell didn’t slow me down and added to the randomness of my trajectory, which was enough to make the effort worthwhile. Halfway into my charge, another message arrived.

You have lost control over Darnell.

I didn’t let the latest Game report dissuade me. I was committed to my course now, and besides the elven fighter was injured. And when it came down to it, even three-to-one odds were better than what I would face in the cavern.

A bolt of ice rushed towards me. Not slowing down, I sidestepped the projectile. Another spell—a fire dart—flew at me. Rolling forward, I ducked beneath it. From up ahead, I heard the lizardman chanting, starting a more complex, and likely more dangerous, spell.

I sprang out of my roll and risked a glance backwards. Distracted by their own attacks, the spellcasters had not redirected their magelights. The two orbs hung stationary a few yards behind me, leaving a pool of shadow between them and the guard station.

I smiled. Careless. I changed direction abruptly, breaking my forward momentum to dash to the right. After two steps, I stilled suddenly and drew the shadows around me.

You are hidden once more.

“Where’d he go?” I heard Darnell mutter. The elven fighter sounded as if he was in pain.

The lizardman broke off his chanting. “Locate him!” he hissed. “I can’t cast my spell without a target!”

The elven fighter stumbled forward, his steps dragging. The magelights began moving my way as well, but I was already deep in a casting and ignored them. My spell completed and I reached out with my will.

Cathar has passed a mental resistance check! You have failed to charm your target. Your mental intrusion has been detected!

I growled in frustration at the failure and swapping targets, started again.

“He’s in my mind!” the elven mage screamed, sounding panicked. “Find him quickly!”

“I’m trying,” Darnell wheezed, “but the coward is hiding.”

A heartbeat passed, then another, then the magelights reached me. Hovering over my still form, they revealed my location.

Three hostile entities have detected you!

“There he is,” Susa hissed. “Get him!”

“I’m going,” Darnell snarled and limped forward. A dagger was stuck in his thigh, and he was moving poorly. The fighter wouldn’t reach me in time to stop my casting, I judged.

But the two mages weren’t waiting for their companion. Lowering their wands, they sent their own attacks racing towards me.

In the midst of my casting, I watched wide-eyed as the ice bolt and fire dart hurtled towards me. I couldn’t dodge away from the projectiles. If I did, I would interrupt my own spell. With only a spilt-second to decide, I braced myself for the impact, and hurried through my spell as fast as I dared.

An ice bolt has injured you! A fire dart has injured you! You have passed a physical resistance check! Spellcasting uninterrupted.

Fire splashed over the bare flesh of my thigh, and ice crackled over my torso, seeping into my bones. The pain was excruciating. But despite the twin blows, I didn’t drop the weaves of the spell I was constructing in my mind.

“He’s still casting!”

“Hit him again!”

My spell completed and I flung it at the lizardman.

Susa has failed a mental resistance check! You have charmed your target for 10 seconds.

I smiled thinly. I’d done it. Now to finish this.

“Attack Darnell,” I ordered my minion, then set off running. My body protested. The burnt skin on my legs tore open further and my torso felt unaccountably heavy. I gritted my teeth against the pain and kept going. Angling around the approaching fighter, I ran towards the mages.

Darnell was still a few feet away and moved to intercept me. But with his leg injured, he was not fast enough to stop me.

Another set of magical projectiles erupted out of the mages’ wands, one rushing towards me, the other towards the fighter. I twisted out of the way of the fire dart and resumed my charge.

Darnell was not so quick. The elf was unprepared for the attack and was hit squarely in the chest by the ice projectile. With a groan, he collapsed to his knees. He was far from dead, but the attack had slowed him further.

The elven mage’s eyes widened, only then realizing his fellow spellcaster had been charmed. He spun about and lowered his wand at the bewitched lizardman. The threat went unheeded by my minion. Raising his wand again, Susa sent another ice bolt hurtling towards Darnell, even as his companion’s fire dart sizzled into him from pointblank range.

I ignored the trio’s three-way battle and made straight for the dead human fighter. His shortsword had fallen by his side. Dashing forward, I picked it up. My target was preoccupied and had his back turned to me.

Lunging forward, I plunged the blade into Cathar’s back. The elven mage shrieked and tried to turn around, but using my momentum and body weight, I bore him to the ground. Slapping my left hand across the elf’s shoulder, I stunned him before cutting into him again with the sword in my right hand.

I had to repeat the combo twice more before the elven mage finally died. Rolling off the corpse, I took stock of the battle. Darnell, still some way off, was barely moving, and Susa’s entire left side had been burned to a crisp. But despite that, the lizardman hadn’t let up with his attacks, and as I watched another ice bolt raced towards the downed fighter.

I rose to my feet and positioned myself behind the mage. Seconds later, my spell lapsed. The lizardman crashed to his knees with a whimper of pain as the weaves of psi around his mind dissipated. He was too far gone to even stand, I realized. My spell had been all that was holding him up.

Pitilessly, I drew back the unresisting mage’s head and slit his throat. Then I strode to Darnell’s side and did the same.

It was over. I had triumphed.