You have successfully placed Modified Necromantic Bulwark (Venus Flytrap) formation behind Steel Cage Wagon.

Your Modified Necromantic Bulwark has taken Severe Damage!

Never had Eric felt greater exhilaration, terror, or regret than when his arrow tore through Nelly’s heart, faster than the speed of sound.

The woman collapsed to her knees as Alice rolled away and contorted, leaping upright with her still bound hands now in front of her, wrenching her seized wand out of her captor’s holster as Nelly’s dazed eyes looked around in confused disbelief before rolling up inside her head as she gave one final sigh, and went utterly still.

Because now there was nothing but a massive charred hole where her heart should had been, Eric’s Infravision clearly spotting the increasing flood of crimson warmth upon the cold blue ground as Nelly’s blood oozed out… before being absorbed once more by Alice, now shivering with ecstasy.

“Yes!”

Her expression became one of horror at the sound of exploding stone.

“Morlekai, we’re in trouble!”

And no one was more aware of that than Eric. Because in the time it took Lyons to frown and squint in their direction, sensing something amiss with the flash of light, Ferret was already snarling and sprinting forward, impossibly fast. Fast enough that if Eric hadn’t placed his carefully visualized passageway constrictor that effectively constrained it to a handful of inches wide that a snarling Ferret has to fight to tear through, just a heartbeat before he had released his arrow… the monster would have already slit all their throats in the blink of an eye.

“Drake, Louie, get out and back up!” Morlekai hissed, before turning into a swarm of bats.

Louie and Drake looked confused and uncertain before hissing with surprised relief when their neck collars and the padlock to the door abruptly disappeared, their wrist cuffs already having fallen away thanks to their lock picking skills, though the ankle cuffs Louie was still frantically working on also vanished in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, they were well-trained enough not to sit in a vulnerable steel cage like fools, but immediately took advantage of their unexpected freedom, feeling their way free of the wagon and hurriedly walking away with a hand on the nearby corridor wall.

Because now the pair couldn’t see a thing, thanks to the deadly assassin that had already squeezed halfway through Eric’s trap far too fast for comfort, having completely plugged up the tiny shafts of light that had done nothing against the gloom in any case, save mark its existence.

“You think bone spikes can stop me, when I wear enchanted chain? Ha!” Ferret roared. “I don’t know how you got out, but you’re dead meat, all of you!”

The man flashed a twisted smile as his knives flashed through the air at chilling speed. No matter that he could see nothing but darkness, literal shots in the dark, further skewed by arms now pressed so tightly he could only flick his wrist as he snarled and pressed forward.

And Eric froze just before he got into position, his foe having moved so fast in the time it took to pivot around from where he had shot Nelly to where he had to line up to shoot anyone trying to force their way through his trap… and still.

Still six daggers had been thrown, clanging against the wagon, any one of which could have taken out Eric’s eye, or worse.

Eric’s heart pounded with relief and terror. If he had been just a little bit faster getting into position… he might not have gotten into position at all. Which meant that his foe was far faster than even Eric had feared, showcasing like never before what an overwhelming advantage absurd levels of Quickness could be.

Unless, of course, one found oneself suddenly wedged in the middle of an ever-tightening corridor, or a trap of necromancy-infused bone spikes and lizard hide that for a split-second one might have thought was a corridor, suddenly finding it just as hard to go forward as backward… and not able to go backward at all.

Ferret’s eyes widened in alarm only Eric could see when the slimy little sadistic speedster finally got it. The pitch blackness he strove to see in suddenly lit up by the white-hot flame of a 4000-degree arrowhead Eric had summoned into being once his bow was fully drawn once more.

“You think a pretty light is going to save you, asshole?” Ferret hissed. “I’m going to tear your throat out!”

Eric laughed coldly, feeling a fierce sense of exhilaration as he stared down the would-be bringer of his own demise. “Do you get it, Weasel-face? You were supposed to struggle your way in. Halfway, in fact. Because I don’t give a fuck that slanted teeth and bone spikes don’t penetrate your armor. Only that you get stuck, right where you are, when you find the other half of the tunnel has teeth angled just the other way.”

Ferret snarled with rage. “No, no, no! I won’t be played by a level nine nothing! The fuck I will!” he roared, his body now vibrating so forcefully Eric blanched to sense tremors tearing through his trap.

Tremors which would soon rupture everything… and then it would be Eric dying at his enemy’s hands.

“Ferret! Hold tight, bro! I’m coming!”

Eric shuddered to hear Lyons’ desperate roar as his steel maul tore into Eric’s construct.

Your construct is taking Severe damage! Construct has saved versus structural integrity collapse! Next save will be at -4 penalty!

Eric’s heart sank just as Ferret flashed a furious smile.

As if he too could sense Eric’s trap slowly breaking down.

Understood that he was only seconds away from being free.

“You are so dead, worm. You think your sad ass bow has any hope against a level 30? Pathetic! Soon, motherfucker. As soon as I get free, I’ll make you wish you had stayed in that cage all your damned days!” Ferret roared, his face a mask of vindictive hate.

That was, until he caught sight of Eric’s bloodthirsty smile. And Ferret, for all his flaws, was too savvy a player not to sense fate’s cards suddenly turning against him, his eyes widening with sudden fear.

“You know what? Yeah. I think my sad ass bow is going to work against you just fine,” Eric said as his opponent desperately tried to lurch back… before finding that the slanted teeth and bones that he had thought himself so clever in using to press himself along the too-narrow tunnel now refused even to let him retreat an inch.

“Oh fu—“

“Eric! Quit gloating and fire!”

But the shot was already released, Ferret’s inhuman speed making his body vibrate with desperation, jerking so frantically as his partner pounded to his rear that Eric’s shot actually failed to hit dead-on.

Which only meant that it clipped the desperate rat-faced assassin, and suddenly there was a 4000-degree piece of white-hot metal cooking his entrails from the inside.

Ferret’s desperate cry became shrieks of inhuman agony as his belly erupted in flame.

You have critically hit your opponent!

Experience earned!

But for all his fury, the agony Eric saw in the slaver’s eyes went beyond even his limits.

“Mercy! Please!" Ferret gasped and wheezed, his final words a tortured gurgle Eric's translator alone let him decipher through the desperate sobs and shrieks of pain.

“I surrender, you win! Please let me go!”

And Eric did.

Straight to oblivion, when the next arrow shrieked through the air to blow apart Ferret’s skull like a grenade, the air suddenly reeking of scorched blood and brain as Ferret’s now headless corpse collapsed, spewing gouts of blood and flame.

“No! Ferret! Oh, fuck, no!”

Lyon’s desperate cry rang through the chamber beyond, the bearded giant gazing with wide, horrified eyes upon the silhouette of the blazing pyre of his now headless companion.

A fire that immediately dimmed when Eric reclaimed his essence-infused arrows in the blink of an eye, doing nothing to light up the darkness beyond, where Eric and the others hid

Eric only had to catch a glimpse of the man’s horrified gaze, filled with such regret and sorrow, to sense how many adventures Lyons and his crew had shared, how many close calls they had laughed about over cold beers, maybe just days later. It tore at Eric’s heart to hear the despair in the man’s voice, humanizing this monster who had been so willing to enslave Eric and his friends, as if they were less than nothing.

Had they met in any other circumstances, Eric wondered if they could have been friends.

Any world save the one where Lyons willingly bound desperate survivors in chains that promised, for 90% or so, an agonizing death. And for the other 10%? Forced oaths and indentured servitude for the remainder of their lives.

So Eric had no problem tapping into Burst of Strength once more, bone bow trembling with the essence of his Wrath even as the giant howled in frenzied desperation, his massive war maul pounding away at Eric’s trap.

Made of enchanted undead flesh that had resisted even an undead titan’s pounding blows.

Yet much to Eric’s horror, Lyons was actually tearing through.

“You will pay for what you did, you goddamned bastards! If it’s the last thing I ever do, I will make you all pay!” Lyons roared. As if he were the desperate savior of his beleaguered men. As if he were the hero, not the monster of this tale. And perhaps, as much as Eric hated to admit it, in his own mind, he was.

And Lyon’s Strength was most definitely beyond what even Eric’s creation could handle.

But his Vitality was not.

You have critically struck your opponent!

Lyons abruptly stopped his frenzied assault, blinking down at the impossibly hot needlepoint arrowhead of essence-infused and nearly indestructible bone that had actually managed to puncture his absurdly thick steel breastplate. His eyes widened with horrified surprise when the metal grew white hot, the bone arrowhead that had only just penetrated even after breaking the sound barrier now roasting him alive from the inside.

He didn’t even scream. Eric would give him that.

Though eyes that had been filled with killing frenzy suddenly turned wild with fear.

Before he turned around and ran for all he was worth, tearing at his breastplate.

But he didn’t get far.

Soul-Linked Bone Bow instantly placed in storage!

You have pulled out Soul-linked Adder-XX0 reverse-draw crossbow!

You have found your opponent's weakness!

Lyons only took a handful of steps before his legs lit up like fireworks as he crashed to the ground, screaming while the backs of his thighs shot out gouts of superheated flame, writhing on the ground as scrabbling hands struggled with both crossbow bolts lodged in his rapidly melting mail pants and his now white-hot breastplate.

But before he could lurch back to his feet upon charred legs that impossibly high Vitality somehow kept intact, he was struck by multiple bolts of lightning, the instant Eric stored his corridor blockade and the body of Ferret as well.

“Forzar!” Alice screamed. “Forzar, you goddamned bastard!”

And much to all their horror, even after being fried by lightning, with legs that were now as much char as muscle, the monster of a man still managed to scrabble back to his feet.

Even after Alice poured every last ounce of her strength into a lightning bolt that had no killback recharge.

Even when Morlekai’s crows tore and pecked at bleeding flesh, limited as it was. For not even blood crows would dare the white-hot cuirass the giant finally tore off with a roar, ripping free the steel clasps with a desperate wrench before crashing back down on his ass, gazing down with horror at the blazing hole in his gut.

With a desperate sob, one trembling fist tore into his own flaming entrails and tore free the arrow that hadn’t been a clean shot at all, so great had Eric’s terror been at the monster that could have ended Eric’s life in an eyeblink.

If Lyons had only thought to fling his deadly steel pole with his hideous strength through the too narrow passage that wouldn’t even fit him, instead of trying to tear through it… and succeeding.

And perhaps he would have, if the man had actually been able to see into the gloom. But Nelly had sent both lights to Lyon's side of the barrier before Eric had separated them entirely, so the passage was effectively a narrow murderhole Eric could shoot through freely while his foes were pinned, or unable to fit in at all.

Lyons gave a desperate sob as he tore free the arrowhead blazing in all directions like a white-hot torch, even as the flesh on his hand began to smoke, now gazing up at the party that had destroyed his own in stupefied disbelief as he flung the superheated piece of metal that would not cool no matter what he did.

“Well played, assholes.” Lyons gave a bitter sob of a chuckle. “That fucking little snake Stibbs didn’t tell us shit about any magic bows cracking the sound barrier.” He glared at a coldly smiling Alice, leaning against Louie, far more exhausted than she’d let her foe know. Holding up a wand she had absolutely no energy to use.

But all their foe did was shake his head and laugh. Laugh till tears came out his eyes. “You played us all so damned perfectly. Divide and conquer, am I right? And to think, that foolish girl actually tossed the mage lights away from herself. For privacy. Light right in our eyes, and you all shrouded in darkness. How fucking stupid! And Nelly never lost control like that before. Not once. Ferret? Yes. Too many fucking times. But never Alice. Not in all the years I knew her. Not even her husband knew she was into girls, or bondage. And in just ten minutes of flirting… how?”

Alice’s grin was all pearl-white teeth.

And a single pair of petite fangs

The man blanched. “Fucking hell. You’re a succubus! I thought those things...” he just shook his head as Alice gave a shallow, mocking curtsy.

“And somehow, you assholes actually managed to free yourselves from enchanted slave collars, manacles, and the strongest padlock it's ever been my pleasure to see forged." The giant of a man chuckled bitterly. "Goddamn it. That one, at least, I should have seen coming. You all were planning on robbing a Federal Reserve Bank supposedly off the books, that somehow everyone whose anyone now knows about."

“Well, yeah,” Drake snorted. “You put us in a cage. What the fuck did you think was going to happen? We’re professional thieves, after all.”

Lyons coughed and groaned, lips now flecked with blood. He flashed a weak smile. “Touche, boys and girls. You played us like foxes, that’s for damn sure.” And the bemused glint in his eye was so reminiscent of every childhood action hero Eric had seen in so many films, with a smile you couldn’t help but feel for, knowing that somehow, even against impossible odds, the hero would manage to slip free and save the day.

A part of Eric couldn’t help but secretly root for this charming rogue of an adventurer who maybe had gotten his hands a bit too dirty for comfort. But who the hell said it was too late for second chances?

“Well, you got me beat, and I’ll be the first to admit it. As far as I’m concerned, the Confederacy’s obligation to that asshole Stibbs, who I think was yanking both our chains, is over and done with, and I’ll personally be recommending to my superiors that you all be granted a pardon for any previous… misunderstandings between our factions.” Lyons flashed a pained smile. “So, with all that being said, I don’t suppose there’s any way in hell I can convince you folk to let me go? If nothing else, someone should be there to comfort Nelly and Ferret’s families in their time of need. And I’ll be the first to admit, I would love nothing more than to hold my own wife in my arms, thanking god for second chances, and letting her know that this old fool is retiring from the front lines for good.”

Lyons said the last with a desperate smile that touched Eric’s heart.

Perception check made!

Willpower check modified by Rank 6 Mental Resistance made!

And that alone stopped him cold.

Because the man before him was no honorable hero, fighting for a just cause. And he sure as hell wasn’t any Mr. Bond. He was a slaver who had managed to get the drop on Eric’s entire crew. HEewas the deadliest opponent Eric had ever faced, a man who could swing a heavy steel bar with such force that giant lizard skulls would explode under the impact of his blows. He was someone who could have broken all their necks with shocking ease, had Alice not embraced the role of the seductress, had Eric not used his own odd infusion of essence and necromantic skills to the fullest, taking desperate advantage of the element of surprise.

But perhaps the most important wake-up call was what he saw on Lyon’s now bare left hand.

Or more specifically… didn’t see.

No wedding band.

Which might not be too surprising, considering that the man was on assignment… maybe. But against his weather roughened skin, tanned dark over what might have been months of bounty-hunting, the telltale band of paler skin that a ring should have left behind was completely absent. Nor was there any sign that rings of any sort had ever been worn on the fingers of either hand.

Drake’s eyes, however, were filled with heartfelt sympathy. “Boss? Any chance we can give this cat a fresh start?”

Louie nodded in mute agreement.

And it chilled Eric to the quick, seeing the pain in a fully-reformed Morlekai’s gaze. As if he too actually wanted to give this man a second chance.

But as much as Eric knew Morlekai wanted to show clemency, it was obvious as well that he still had questions he was desperate to have answered.

“Why?”

Lyons, still coughing up blood, looked amused by his question.

“Why what, mage?”

“Why work for a shadow government that would have you enslave every survivor of the pods, and consign everyone else to death?”

Lyons sighed and shook his head. "Our world is doomed. You know that, right? Ugly as it's been… if even a million people would just stand up and enter the pods… a hundred thousand Conscripts would make all the difference between the human race surviving free and proud… or us being the subjugated footnotes in someone else’s history.”

Morlekai raised a bemused eyebrow at that. “Even though it flies utterly against the constitution? Making a mockery of our inalienable rights and liberties as much as any policy possibly could?”

This earned a dry chuckle. "Seriously? Where have you been, Morlekai, not to see the way pretty much every single goddamned liberty and right’s already been stripped away from all of us, over just the past decade? And most people were too damned blind to see it, or too damned scared to do anything about it. Not that any of that matters now.”

Alice snorted. “Sure, you know what? Let’s not even worry about that goddamned point of contention. Let’s say, in fact, you and yours are all well-meaning saints. Why the fuck were you willing to enslave adventurers who had already survived the pods and were actually making a difference? Adventurers who, fuck it, had been busting their asses and protecting people in need for months?”

Lyons sighed, closed his eyes, and shaking his head. “I could blow all sorts of smoke up your asses about becoming part of a righteous cause, but we both know that’s pure bullshit. There are patriot recruitment centers everywhere, including Freetown, inviting adventurers to join our cause. The truth?” He flashed a jaded smile. “I think you already know.”

Morlekai nodded. “The keys and codes to the Federal Reserve Bank.”

“Damn right,” Lyons admitted with a blood-flecked chuckle. “Do you have any idea how valuable that gold is, even beyond this planet? It’s one of the few materials mages love that can’t be replicated. With enough gold… well shit, Morlekai, we could secure ourselves mercenaries, fortifications, services… hell, we could change the face of our entire world for the better in all sorts of ways.”

He flashed his winning smile once more. “So, how’d you all like to be part of a winning team? You’ve certainly proven yourselves in the crucible of battle, that’s clear as hell. A couple oaths, and you wouldn’t even be grunts, but sworn in as officers. Hell, help me secure the gold, and a full 10% is yours!”

Eric flashed a sad smile, ignoring the tightening of Morlekai’s gaze when he cut in. “Tell me, Lyons, are there any words to this oath demanding absolute unquestioned obedience to one’s superior officer, or, perhaps, your ‘fearless leader?’

Lyons sighed, quirked a rueful grin, and nodded. “But only if you want to call it that,” he said softly, before coughing up another mouthful of blood. “It’s just a single line about obeying the chain of command. Nothing more onerous than that. And just look at how well you hide in the shadows. You’d make the perfect scout for your country, if you chose to serve.”

“And was this fearless leader somehow elected in the past few months when I wasn’t looking?” Eric asked, rolling his shoulders while still keeping a bead on his foe. “Because I sure as hell didn’t hear about any elections while I was in Junk Town.”

Lyons shrugged. “You know how these things are. End of the world, national emergency, and all that. Suffice to say, he was voted on by committee, and he promises we'll have a free and fair election, once the crisis has past." The giant flashed a hopeful smile. "So, who's for putting this misunderstanding behind us and starting over with a fresh clean slate? I have more than enough status to clear your records with a snap. So whose up for becoming upstanding citizens of the Confederated States of America?”

Morlekai shook his head. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to pass on that offer, Lyons.”

“Yeah, I figured you might. Still, it never hurts to ask,” the giant said, suddenly not sounding nearly so wounded as he had, just seconds ago. Especially not when his gaze turned cold and hard as a wolf aiming for the kill, his hands suddenly filled with what Eric was damn sure was an explosive of some sort.

And with speed beyond Eric’s, even if only by a few points, it could so easily have turned the tide. Could so easily have killed them all, for daring to let their guards down even for a moment, parlaying with a foe three times their level, whose party they had just killed.

If Eric hadn’t already had his bow fully extended, his body still cloaked in gloom Lyons had no hope of seeing through with dim flickering lights in front of him. But Eric, with his infravision, had no problem at all locking on to his target as a white-hot bone arrow formed and released in the blink of an eye. Striking the explosive that even at fifteen yards was enough to deafen Eric and send deadly fragments of steel pelting his enchanted scale armor, sent flying back by the blast, so deafened he couldn’t hear more than a whisper of his friends’ desperate cries.

You have partially resisted Concussive Blast!

You have taken one 1 Medium Wound and 3 Light Wounds!

Multiple ribs cracked! (Presently regenerating)

You are presently suffering from: Mild Disorientation.

You have slain multiple opponents over three times your level! Maximum Potency to Skill conversion is in effect!

Find Weakness is now Rank 8!

Infravision (Magesight) is now Rank 11!

Crossbow is now Rank 15!

You have achieved Rank 15 with all Bows!

Flesh Sculptor is now Rank 14!

Burst of Strength is now Rank 10!

You have achieved Journeyman Status in Burst of Strength! You have earned +2 in Soul Reserves and +1 to Finesse!

You must now choose your skill advancement path.

The Path of Power will allow Burst of Strength to channel even more essence-infused Might linked to Wrath and Dominion through your frame and the artifacts soul-linked to you! - Raise your Soul Reserves and be worthy of this evolution!

The Path of Mastery will allow you to channel your essence with greater precision and efficiency, but with no additional enhancements to raw might, beyond what essence saturation and skill rank already grants you.

The Path of Balance will enhance your Might and Control both, but at a significant penalty compared to either Power or Mastery.

You have made your choice!

Eric’s ears were ringing as he forced himself to his feet, mentally muting his Interface’s insistent urging as he struggled to draw another arrow while his heart raced with panic. “Are you guys okay?”

And the relief he felt at the sound of groans and curses, even Alice’s furious scream. “My hair, that shrapnel fucked up my hair!”

He felt a cold shiver of dread when he saw no trace of Lyons.

“Shit, we’re in trouble! Back up, I’ll reseal the—“

And then he saw it.

A decapitated head in the distance, still blinking by some awful miracle as it rolled down the corridor, their enemy’s inhuman Vitality now doing no more than buying the dying brain a few precious seconds to fully appreciate the horror of his own demise before desperately bulging eyes stilled their frantic blinking, a mouth desperately gulping air like a drowning fish growing still at last, and Lyons was no more.