Chapter Forty: Champions For Breakfast

  Zuglah blinked. He could almost see the Sorcerer’s eyes go wide in surprise as he spun about, sceptre raised in anticipation. Logically, it made sense that Zuglah would want to silence him.

  But Zuglah was not thinking about settling scores, or righting any wrongs. He was thinking about winning. He put himself directly beside Gooth Gahan.

  The Tauren Fighter was a champion for good reason. His attacks on Denton had been telling; the Human’s breastplate was battered, and had come loose on one shoulder. His helm was in just as bad a shape, and he had cuts and bruises everywhere. But he still moved with alacrity. So did the Tauren.

  Zuglah needed to capitalize on his element of surprise. Somehow, he needed to take the initiative away from this group, before it rolled right over them like they weren’t even there. Because if they waited any longer, they wouldn’t be.

  He had positioned himself beside Denton for two reasons: the first one being that he hoped Redda Mo might be able to take the pressure off of Denton even slightly, allowing him the opportunity to actually attack for a change, and the second reason being the Sorcerer. He did not want that jerk having line of sight on him.

  Just as deliberately, he chose Dancing Mana for his attack. It was upscaled, had a high chance to stagger, and it was relentless. He began the sending as soon as he blinked. And very nearly got his nose sliced clean in two.

  “Gaaah! Zuglah, you gotta warn a guy.” Redda Mo was already moving at full speed, but that cut had gotten by him. Gooth Gathan planted a cloven hoof into Zuglah’s solar plexus, and booted him a good three feet to land on his ass. The big ox had reacted so fast, you’d have thought it was his idea.

  Zuglah had long ago developed the ability to be in one place inside his mind, while his body was in another, altogether less pleasant place. Such as freezing in a hole he had dug in the forest. As he sat on the packed dirt floor gasping for wind, he was also completing his spell. Bolt after bolt of hot, silver incandescence streaked from his left palm as he used Redda Mo to lever himself to his feet.

  “Now, Redda Mo. HIt him.” They had worked out between them different hand signals, each one indicating a different member of their team.

  “Really? Him?” Redda Mo hesitated.

  If there was one thing that could give him a cross-eyed brain stroke, it was trying to talk and cast at the same time. “Cleric,” he gasped. He pushed harder on the Dancing Mana. Another half step forward, and Redda Mo was blocking for all he was worth. Still, Denton could not find room to attack.

  “AGGRESSION!” Redda Mo screamed, imbuing the Priest with a sudden surge of strength and adrenaline. Zuglah pushed mana into bullets and sent them flying as fast as he could make them. Gooth Gahan ignored them.

  Wizard Gamstone had told him early on that one of the drawbacks of housing damage was that the physical effects like knockback and stagger could not be transferred. But by sharing them, they could be mitigated. The big bull Tauren was fighting defensively now, Redda Mo fully occupying the saber in his right hand. Denton, normally enough for anybody, was trying to seize his chance and attacking with a fury. He was finally able to catch the Tauren’s flashing blade upon his shield instead of his sword, freeing him to counterattack and riposte.

  Zuglah could feel the tiny hairs on his arms and neck stand, reaching for the Maelstrom. It was coming. Zuglah summoned Lightning of his own. Holding it was harder than casting it. He waited.

  Finally, he saw white behind his eyes, felt excruciating pain. He released his bolt of Lightning, feeling a surge like never before as the bolt from above flashed through him and merged with his own. It was agony.

  As soon as it was over, there was no time for recovery. Zuglah forced his arm high, which made Redda Mo block high as well, and Zuglah got what he wanted. A sideways kick in his chest that sent him flying. Instead of landing on his butt this time, he kept his momentum and rolled onto his back and his feet. He turned around and rushed forward, stabbing the Shaman in the side twice in rapid succession. Although Zuglah hadn’t had time to draw his dagger, The Ice Blades still exploded to devastating effect.

  The Shaman tried to level a blow to Zuglah’s unprotected head, but Warwick batted it away easily and smashed him right between the horns. He went down hard, and the Cleric swung again as fast as he could, finishing him.

  He straightened, a look of elation and relief washing over his face. Zuglah handed him a Mana Pot and said, “Drink it all.” Then he blinked. Time to find that Sorcerer.

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  Randall was crouching beside the remains of Zuglah’s Splendid Wall, hand to the ground, sending out helgavolts surreptitiously. On the other side of the big, armored Anti-Paladin was Pliesson, who was also down on one knee. He had a long, black arrow protruding from his side, and he was breathing raggedly. But he was holding his small black hands in front of his face and whispering. To his right, a tall shaggy haired and black-bearded man was holding Phantom and fencing against the Orc. There was also a small, barely perceptible blade floating along beside Pliesson, darting in and out. Proxy foil.

  The Ranger, surprisingly, also had an arrow protruding from his side. He was circling vainly, trying to close with sword or knife, but Pliesson was keeping him at bay. The large Tauren had rightly judged Randall as no threat, and rightly so. Zuglah desperately hoped that Pliesson could hang on a little longer.

  Elemental magic was worse than useless. It only served to energize the Sorcerer’s Maelstrom, bringing the Lightning strikes and the Thunderclaps that much quicker. He already knew what he would do.

  He landed directly in front of the other Troll. He was only startled for a split second, then the Sorcerer was swinging his heavy, gilded scepter in a wild arc, snarling. Zuglah let it go by, then sped it along with a tap from Redda Mo. He spun the runestick like a quarterstaff, whirling it quickly and bringing the butt around to whack soundly against the side of the enemy Troll’s head. Zuglah kept right on attacking, knocking the man’s wrist and ankle in quick succession. While he was still reeling, half dazed and limping, Zuglah brought Redda Mo down on his head with both hands. The iron butt of the staff put him out with a resounding crack.

  Zuglah knew that the Sorcerer was finished, because the Maelstrom died. Everyone felt it, and everyone was looking his way. “That’s better, right? It’s not just me?” The Ranger fired an arrow directly at his chest. He managed to get just enough of Redda Mo in front of the shaft to deflect it wide, but it tore the front out of his already ruined robes. Zuglah was amazed that he could even draw a bow with that arrow in his side.

  Glancing quickly over his shoulder, Zuglah was relieved to see that Denton and Warwick were both still alive. Two of Randall’s helgavolts found Gooth Gathan just then, one right after the other, and they basically saved Warwick from being run through the gut. What was he even doing within melee range? Zuglah grabbed Randall and pulled him struggling to his feet. “Put some Lightning on him. It’ll work now.” And he shoved Randall towards the Champion.

  As he turned, he saw the Tauren Ranger was waiting for him, swords drawn. He started slowly towards Zuglah. He should have charged.

  Zuglah cast a moderate stream of Dancing Mana, but not towards the Ranger. The silvery bullets dipped and sped around him, much to his surprise, and caught the Orc from behind, unaware. Both Pliesson and the shaggy haired man struck soon after.

  The Tauren Ranger leapt back again in chagrin as he was met with Redda Mo’s defense. Did he think Zuglah had eyes in the back of his head or something? Zuglah cast Blazing Inferno while they fought, scalding the big Tauren whenever he came within range. And then the big fighter found himself fighting the shaggy haired man as well, welding Phantom. He died on that blade moments later.

  Gooth Gahan fought to the bitter end. He knew he was defeated, yet he kept going, even as Zuglah and Randall both hammered him with spells. He kept his focus on Denton, trying vainly to kill the Human before the end. But finally, the damage became too much for him to bear, and he was staggering forward, no longer able to raise a blade. Denton ran him through. Then he fell to his knees in relief.

  They all gathered around Warwick, who used his Great Maul’s group healing ability. The arrow in Pliesson’s side fell to the ground, as well as a dagger that had lodged in Denton somewhere that Zuglah hadn’t noticed. The party was sitting, exhausted but happy, when the Illusion of Lieber Cant suddenly woke up.

  “Congratulations, brave warriors! You have passed the first challenge. The first key is yours.” He bowed, and gestured towards the back. There was a large, ornate chest waiting for them.

  As they drew near, Zuglah was surprised to find that Lieber Cant had come with them. He walked around the chest and motioned their attention towards the archway. “As you can see, there are four more keys required to summon The Warcaster. You have a long journey ahead, with each step a challenge in itself. But for now, you may claim your prize.”

  At his command, the chest opened itself. There was gold and gems of course, as well as a pair of matching falchions and a small hand crossbow. The key itself was massive, almost the length of a short sword and seemed to be of smelted bronze.

  The real Lieber Cant came through a portal, all bustle and business. He took the limp Bag of Holding out of Denton’s hands saying, “Yes, yes. Come along, no time for looting now. Our audience is waiting.” He unceremoniously shoved the contents of the chest into Denton’s Bag, impatiently scooping handfuls of jewels and gold. There had to be almost three hundred gold pieces in the chest, and they all helped him collect it.

  When he bustled them through the portal, it seemed like the whole school was waiting for them. A mighty cheer arose, startling Zuglah. They were outside, in the courtyard of a large tavern. The crowd had spilled into the street, and it seemed like they had completely taken over the town square. It was a raging party.

  Chayah wasn’t the first person to find Zuglah, but she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him soundly in front of everybody. Together, they greeted Wizard Gamstone as he came up to Zuglah and handed him a tankard. He crashed into it with a full ale of his own, then they drank. “You are one crafty Troll, Zuglah Glun. It’s not just that you are tough and fast, though you are. It’s that you are dead clever. That’s going to take you far, when you get to Guo Nono.”

  Zuglah sighed in exasperation. How many times did he have to say it? He just wanted to sell potions. Collect ingredients.

  Okay, maybe occasionally he would run a dungeon or two…