44 – Zerker-Rat

  Nightmares swirled around Andy—children’s faces peering out of the dark, eyes pleading; lightning flashing in stormy skies; growls and howls growing ever louder; and over it all, the feeling of impending dread, the certainty that something terrible approached. He drifted in that awful dreamscape for only a short while, but to him, it felt like hours or days before a pleasant warmth washed over him, and a familiar voice whispered urgently in his ear.

  “Andy… Andy, wake up!”

  Blinking, Andy peered around a dim, stone-walled room, and memories flooded back to him—the ratmen trying to open the gate, the giant ratman outside… the burning green gas! He coughed reflexively, but his lungs felt fine. Bea was looming over him, and he saw another shadowy figure moving around behind her. The ground shook, and a horrible roar drowned out Bea’s further words.

  “What—” he started to ask, pushing himself up into a seated position.

  “We’re opening the gate!” Omar shouted, and Andy looked to see him pulling on the wheel.

  “What’s happening?” Andy managed to say, grasping for his spear and lurching to his feet.

  Bea watched him critically, but nodded as he steadied himself. She put her hand on his forehead, warm and surprisingly soft. “You were poisoned, I think. My cleansing waters seemed to help.”

  Andy glanced at the doorway and saw the crumpled figure of one of the ratman wizards there, an arrow standing proudly from its skull. Lucy. “Where’s—”

  Omar interrupted, his voice ragged with stress: “Lucy’s on the wall with Bella. When she shot the wizard rats, more started pouring out of the keep! We need to let Rundle in to fight the zerker-rat, but they need you up there!”

  Adrenaline pushed the remaining cobwebs out of Andy’s brain. “Where are the stairs?”

  “Get to the tower on the left,” Omar said, grunting as he spun the wheel. “Stairs are inside. You gotta help with the rats—or take this damn wheel and I will!”

  Andy started moving before Omar finished speaking. As he charged out the door, he saw a chaotic scene. The giant ratman—zerker-rat?—was half through the gate, screaming in fury as Rundle’s answering roars echoed into the courtyard. A dozen ratman and rat-wizard corpses littered the courtyard, half of which looked to be smashed. Had they lost control of their zerker-rat? A flash of silver through the air drew his eyes upward, and he saw a crowd of ratmen making their way around the wall’s parapets—going for Lucy and Bella, no doubt.

  He turned and sprinted toward the tower Omar had indicated. On his way, he checked his mana: 555/585. At least he’d regenerated while unconscious! Without a second thought, he cast Smoke Drift and veritably flew over the cobbles to the tower door. It was closed, but the latch was broken—probably smashed out of the wood during the vermin invasion. He threw it open and charged up the stairs, his spell allowing him to leap up the flights in two strides.

  When he burst onto the parapet, he scanned left and right and saw Lucy frantically nocking an arrow and rats charging from both directions. Bella was on a knee beside her, a hand pressed against the side of her head. Andy was between them and the largest group, so he lowered his spear and charged. The miniature vermin horde comprised the normal, smaller ratmen and the larger, armored blitz-rats. Andy didn’t discriminate; he went straight for them and cast Cinderstorm Blast just as their squeals grew into a frenzy and the ratmen in the lead leaped at him with murder in their eyes.

  Hot air filled his lungs, and Andy coughed out a black cloud, thick with fiery embers. The vermin screamed, squealed, and chittered in abject panic. Their clothing and fur caught fire; their metal armor and weapons sizzled their flesh; and the entire charging throng fell apart. Some of the rats leaped off the wall in their panic, some turned and tried to run, but most of them collapsed, thrashing and convulsing in their death throes. Andy would have liked to deliver mercy, but he had Lucy and Bella to worry about; he didn’t stay to watch the effects of his attack, but turned to run along the wall.

  He was halfway to them when Lucy dropped her bow and drew her blitz-rat dagger, standing protectively beside Bella, who was still looking wobbly on her knee. Lucy hacked and stabbed at the ratmen before her, her back to Bella as the other woman struggled to her feet. Andy could see she was trying to straighten her shield on her arm, but when she stooped for her sword, she almost fell. It didn’t matter—he was there.

  Andy flew past them, his spear darting like a wood-and-metal viper, piercing and slashing rodent necks, chests, stomachs, and eyes. He let his instincts and superhuman speed take over, his critical mastery guiding his spear toward every imaginable soft target. He wove his way past the two women, leaving a trail of twitching, whimpering ratmen behind him. Most were dead, but many didn’t realize it yet.

  When he cleared that initial group and faced the oncoming squadron of blitz-rats, he inhaled and cast Cinderstorm Blast again. As before, it was utterly devastating to the furry, metal-clad creatures. This time he took the chance to speed them on their way to oblivion. As he did so, wading through his black, fiery cloud, laying about him with his spear, he heard the titanic clash between Rundle and the zerker-rat.

  Clangs of metal hitting metal and metal smashing into stone resounded through the courtyard amid roars and screams that drowned out even the blitz-rats’ agonized cries. When Andy finished and hurried out of his smoke cloud to his friends, he found Lucy yanking arrows out of her earlier victims and Bella leaning against the parapet, holding her skull while blood seeped between her fingers. She looked at him and smiled, but her eyes were unfocused.

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  “You good?” he asked.

  “Not really, but I will be.” She spat out some bloody saliva and added, “I gotta get a helmet.”

  Andy looked over the wall at the sound of a heavy crash and saw Rundle and the zerker-rat grappling. The battle-bear was on his hind legs, his massive claws digging at the metal plates on the zerker-rat’s back. His axe was on the cobbles, the blade cracked and jagged. While he squeezed and clawed, the zerker-rat pounded Rundle’s shoulders, back, and skull with its enormous metal-clad fists.

  Every muscle in Andy’s body vibrated with the need to get down there and help, but his mind urged caution: one stray blow from either of those huge fighters might kill him.

  Lucy hurried to his side, gripping a handful of bloody arrows. “I only have a few shots.”

  Andy nodded, glancing down to the left. He saw Omar and Bea in the doorway to the gatehouse. Bea was holding one of her vials. If nothing else, she could heal Rundle—

  Lucy’s bowstring twanged. “Dammit!” Andy saw why she was upset; her arrow had shattered on the zerker-rat’s helmet.

  He stepped toward the wall. “I gotta try to help. Distract it at least.” He nodded to Bella. “Try to get her to Bea.”

  “Andy—” Lucy started to say, but he’d already leaped off the wall; his Smoke Drift was still active.

  While he drifted through the air, spear forward, toward the two clashing giants, he heard a whistle and saw a glowing arrow snap through the air to slam into the zerker-rat’s calf—one of the few parts of its body that wasn’t covered in black iron plates. It screamed and stumbled to the side, and Rundle capitalized, throwing one arm high while pulling with his other. The zerker-rat flipped onto the cobbles, crashing with a tremendous clangor and a shower of sparks as his metal armor slid over the stone.

  Andy hit the ground where they’d been standing and darted around, flanking the zerker-rat as it thrashed its way to its feet, despite Rundle’s repeated blows and swipes. He crouched low, maneuvering with his spear before him, but the zerker-rat didn’t care about him; its red eyes and drooling fangs were fixated on the battle-bear.

  Rundle’s armor was bent, his fur was matted with blood, even one of his huge fangs was broken in half, but he was of a singular mind, batting his paws in huge, whooshing swipes, his metal-plated claws grinding and screeching against the iron-plate armor of the zerker-rat.

  Andy saw his mark; even without his Critical Mastery, he would have known where to strike. The backs of the zerker-rat’s legs were armored only by the leather of its pants and the straps holding the plates onto the front. He darted forward, a dark blur in his plastic-scaled jacket. His spear found purchase in the crook of the giant rat’s right knee. Andy snatched the weapon back and retreated as quickly as he could, planning to leave the spear’s enchantment to do its work. The zerker-rat had other ideas.

  Andy’s speed was difficult to track, but the two giants, battling back and forth, pounding each other with vicious blows, moved with frenetic speed, too. The zerker-rat’s instinctive swipe at the sudden pain in its knee was a blur of metal and fur, and it caught Andy’s spear even as he pulled it back. The metal gauntlet slammed into the weapon with such force that Andy’s fingers went numb from the impact, and the spear flew out of his hands, clattering across the cobbles toward a pile of dead ratmen.

  The zerker-rat screamed its fury at Andy, took a step toward him, and then Rundle’s gleaming claws swiped up and ripped out one of its eyes. The wound was too much—too debilitating; it signaled the beginning of the end for the giant rat creature. While Andy yanked his iron dagger from his belt and backpedaled, Rundle continued to pound the zerker-rat, each blow echoing with wet crunches and the clangor of metal bending and breaking.

  Andy circled warily and watched as Rundle dismantled his foe. The zerker-rat couldn’t defend itself—half blind and unable to put weight on the knee that Andy’s caustic black flames had infected. The magical fire ate away at its tendons and muscles. In seconds, the fight was over, and Andy stooped to retrieve his spear, looking around the courtyard warily. No further enemies were in sight.

  “Rundle!” Jilly cried, rushing through the gate. The big bear turned to her, heaving for breath as bloody foam flecked his dark, furry lips.

  Andy looked toward the gatehouse and was relieved to see the others approaching. Bella looked better. He was going to suggest Bea help Rundle, but the Water Witch was already on her way over, a tiny vial in her outstretched hand. Omar walked over to him while the others all crowded around the bear.

  “You’re crazy, man.”

  Andy shrugged. “Might have to fight something like that without a battle-bear’s help someday.”

  Omar arched an eyebrow. “Damn. I guess so. That son of a bitch was hitting hard. You heard those blows!”

  Andy flexed his fingers. “Felt one.”

  “What’s next?” Omar asked, but before Andy could speculate, the System hit them with an announcement:

  ***Congratulations! You’ve completed the optional quest: Reduce the Baron’s Forces, Stage One: 400/400. Your accomplishment will impact your battle with the Baron, should you choose to confront him, and influence the quality of the treasure if you are victorious.

  A new optional quest has been unlocked: Reduce the Baron’s Forces, Stage Two: 413/600.***

  ***Congratulations, Andy! You’ve slain many vermin and helped to destroy a Boss-class zerker-rat, earning you enough experience to advance to level 23 in your Brimstone Stalker class. You’ve gained one Improvement Point.***

  “Damn,” Omar said, shaking his head. “Just hit level 20.”

  “Refinement?” Andy asked.

  “Yeah—next time I rest.”

  “Did you guys see that?” Lucy asked. Andy turned toward her and did a double-take at the scene behind her. Rundle was lying on the ground while Bea administered to the blood-matted fur atop his head. Bella was standing there watching, holding the furry, robe-clad rat of hers in her arms while Jilly inspected the creature.

  “Yeah, we did.” Andy nodded. “What’s going on over there?”

  “Um, Jilly’s trying to use her necklace to communicate with Bella’s rat. It’s not speaking, though.”

  Omar snorted. “It’s a baby giant-rat, not one of the rat-people. I mean, right?”

  Lucy nodded. “Yeah, but Bella just got the idea while we were chatting with Rundle through Jilly.” She pointed to the iron-strapped wooden door of the keep. “Anyway, are we going in there?”

  Andy shrugged. “We came this far.”

  “Do you think we should go try to kill another couple hundred rats?” Omar asked.

  Lucy’s eyes widened. “Please, no! Let’s get this place done.”

  Andy smiled at her. “Ready to leave?”

  “Yes! I’m sure the people back home are worried, too.”

  “We might kill that many finding the boss, anyway,” Omar said, nodding.

  Andy put his arm on Lucy’s shoulders, squeezing her against his side. “I think you saved me. That wizard-rat knocked me out or something, but I saw an arrow in his head.”

  “Really?”

  Omar nodded. “Yeah. He was drooling on the floor when we went into the gatehouse.”

  Lucy smiled up at Andy, her blue eyes sparkling in the overcast sunlight. “Well, we’re even for the day, then, cause you saved me and Bella.”

  Andy tilted his head, considering for a minute, then he shrugged. “Fair enough.” With an arm still over her shoulders, he guided Lucy back toward the others. “Let’s see who else is game to finish this thing. Wouldn’t mind having Rundle with us the rest of the way.”

  Lucy leaned into him as they walked. “Me neither. Also, we need to find some ratman archers, ’cause I’m running low on arrows.”

  “Maybe there’s an armory,” Omar suggested. “It’s a castle, after all.”