Necromancers, Demons & Kings Read online

  “Huh,” Bishop pondered, as he dismissed the message and opened up his skills. “That could be handy.”

  “What did you get?” Jimmy asked. “I can now deal out twice as much damage to demonkind. And if it kills them, I gain magic back.”

  “I think we’re going to have to change you to DPS,” Maverick told him.

  “But then we have no healers. Benji’s going down the same path I am, maybe.”

  “We might be joining up with the LongBeards for good,” Bishop told them. “His healers were pretty good during the last major fight we had. We can work it out later.”

  “So, what did you get?”

  Bishop chose the Powershot Stance and a blue glow shot up from the floor to surround him. “A new stance, supposed to provide more power, but my mana won’t last as long. Or I got one that allows me to maintain mana longer, but my shooting could be crap.”

  “Could be good, or total junk,” Maverick said, smirking. “Only one way to find out.”

  She stretched her arms over her head and shifted back. Willy growled at the entrance to the next doorway and they pushed farther into the castle. According to their map, they would be nearing the throne room soon enough, coming out at the east side of the main entrance. The others weren’t too far away either and, so far, it looked like no one had died.

  His new stance set, Bishop made ready for the next attack as Maverick charged into a large, circular chamber and pulled everything to her. Jimmy raised his staff, and a bright green light surrounded him as he attacked using a few abilities that came with his Exorcist spec. His first hit against one of the necromancers did far more damage than it should have, sending it to nearly half health.

  “What the hell was that?” Bishop asked, drawing back on his string. “I thought it only worked on those with demon in them?”

  “Half-breeds?” Jimmy called back, and he ducked as one of the necromancers peeled away from Maverick. She wailed and Bishop shot her with Silencing Arrow, followed quickly by Increased Swift Bow, and finally Execute when her health was low enough to finish her off. More necromancers poured into the room from another chamber and he cursed, shifting around, but the new stance ensured he never missed a shot.

  Too bad he ran out of mana within the first few minutes.

  “Damn it,” he grunted. “Jimmy! I need five seconds!”

  “Got it!”

  Jimmy rushed forward and attacked, using his staff to swipe and hit the necromancers Maverick hadn’t pulled. Bishop switched his stance to Endurance and yelled for Jimmy to back off again. He aimed his Rain of Thorns and pinned the necromancers in place as he fired Poison Barbed Arrow and Rain of Thorns a second time to keep them stilled. A beam of dark green light shot out from the mass of necromancers, and Bishop was hurled backwards into the wall. His health depleted a fourth and he scrambled to get out of the way as another beam of light came towards his face.

  Maverick howled when one of the attackers stabbed her in the side with his staff. Her body glowed green as she struggled to dislodge the attacker, but it was no use. Soon, her whole body was engulfed in green fire.

  Even more necromancers rushed into the room and Bishop struggled to keep up the attacks. At least, with this stance, he hardly ran out of mana. On the downside, his shots went wide, missing his targets as he yelled, firing Instant Shots as fast as he could. Maverick’s health steadily dropped as did his with every hit he took. Willy howled and more white wolves shimmered into view. Sadly, there were too many enemies and the pack died within seconds, overwhelmed by the necromancers that Bishop soon realized were not necromancers at all.

  “Zombies!” he yelled over their heads. “Jimmy! They’re zombies! They’re undead!”

  “Not all of them!”

  “No, but most of them are! Find the necromancer!” he shouted, and he searched the mass of bodies fervently. If they took out the ones doing the calling of the zombies, they might make it out of this room alive.

  Jimmy used his AOE heal that barely did anything to help Maverick who moved sluggishly now, attacking with what little strength remained as the green flames continued to eat away at her. Bishop grunted as hands closed around his body and he had to resort to his dagger. He Slashed and Uppercut, but the damage was minimal.

  He was going to die. They were all going to die.

  A loud snarl caught his attention. Through the swarm of bodies pushing him further away from his mates, he spotted the necromancer, raising a staff writhed in green flames high over his head. He brought it down, slamming the tip into the stones, and a pulse shot out from the room. More, he was going to call more!

  No he’s not, Bishop thought, and as his life clung on for dear life, he spun around, breaking free of the zombies’ hold. He only needed a few seconds, just a few.

  He drew back the string as he yelled for Jimmy to do one more heal.

  “Why!”

  “Just do it!” The moment the heal took effect, Bishop let Assassin’s Tear loose, aiming straight for the necromancer. The white light of the kill shot swallowed the room and obliterated the zombies in it. The necromancer screamed in agony as the shot killed him. Bishop was thrown backwards into the wall. He heard Jimmy yell along with Willy’s growl of pain and Maverick’s roar. His head smacked hard into the stones and he sank to the floor in a heap. His life drained, but he hung on with a sliver of health.

  The light faded and all that remained in the room were the heroes and Willy, among a pile of corpses.

  “Are you insane?” Jimmy crawled out from under a few of the bodies, gagging as he shoved limbs out of his way along with dismembered heads. “That’s disgusting. I think I might actually be sick from this one.”

  Bishop shrugged, wiping off his face. “At least you’re alive.”

  “Barely, barely alive,” he shot back. “Maverick?”

  An arm shot up from the other side of the room, followed by her head of hair and the rest of her body. Willy was tucked alongside her and they both shook themselves out as they escaped the pile of rotting bodies.

  “That was fun,” she growled, and she collapsed to the floor a few feet away. “What was that bull?”

  “The necromancer, he drew them all here,” Bishop said, unsteadily getting to his feet and walking over to what remained of the burnt out body of the necromancer. He nudged him with his boot and his eyes shot open. All three of them yelled, and Bishop fired one final Instant Shot right into his forehead. “Damn! What the hell was he?”

  “I don’t know, but if he was that powerful, we have to be getting close to the leader.” Maverick tapped her spear absently on the ground beside her as she glared down the far corridor. “That way?”

  “Yeah, think so.” Bishop crouched lower and picked up the necromancer’s staff. “Can you do anything with this?” he asked, tossing it to Jimmy.

  “Nah, but you might be able to deconstruct it back at the craft hall.”

  Jimmy threw it back and Bishop tucked it away in his bags. He looted the body and a few interesting items popped up in his bags.

  You have received: Lachlan’s Lost Journal.

  It came with a quest for taking the worn leather bound book of parchment found in his pockets back to the Priest Bronson in Hillside. Bishop waited for the others to say something about it. Neither seemed to have gotten the quest. He tried to share it with them as they talked quietly, but an error message popped up in front of him. Frowning, he made a mental note to mention it to Dennis later and went to join them.

  Maverick used her spear to drag herself upright and nodded to a painting at the end of the room they never reached. “Is that… that’s King Godfrey.”

  Bishop squinted at the faded paint. She was right. The woman at his side, however, was not his current Queen. Bishop’s chest tightened in anxiety as did his hand around his bow. “Is that… Could that be Tavin?”

  “Wait, what? Isn’t she your guide in all of this?” Jimmy asked, confused.

  “Yeah she is, so why is she standing next
to him looking like his Queen?”

  He remembered back to the fight between Tavin and Valen that day outside the second dungeon. Tavin called Valen a murdering bitch. He assumed it was because of how her father had died and the countless others she probably had a hand in killing, but what if it didn’t?

  Mind racing, he considered the possibilities that the place they stood in now was where Weston had originally been built. If Tavin had once been King Godfrey’s Queen, what happened here to change all of that? He despised half-breeds. Yet, from that painting, he was married to one when he lived here amongst these walls. Bishop leaned in closer, studying the man’s face in the painting and his eyes. He smiled here and seemed happy.

  “Bishop, the others are waiting for us at the throne room,” Maverick said, pulling him from his thoughts. “Let’s get moving.”

  He left the painting behind, but the image was seared into his mind. This place and everything in it was left over from a time before when demons clearly came to Samar and attacked, killing everyone here. Tavin was meant to meet him in Hillside. Perhaps he would get some answers when he met up with her there.

  At the end of one more long and winding corridor, they came to an open arched doorway that led into what had once been a magnificent throne room. Now, it crumbled around the edges and the roof was completely destroyed as if ripped off by some incredible force. More of the elf, and what they knew now had to be either zombie or half-breed occultists, filled the throne room, standing in random groups around burning fires or tables.

  Bishop peered further in the room towards the throne where a man was draped in the chair, casually swinging his staff in his right hand with a broken crown set atop his scraggly head of hair. He was rotten and missing most of his skin. He had an amused look on his face and, for some reason, Bishop felt they should not be stepping into this room.

  “He knows we’re here,” he whispered to Jimmy and Maverick. “Look at his face.”

  “You think he’s got a trap?” Maverick asked, turning her head as if she would be able to find and stop it.

  “It’s possible.”

  Bishop glanced down at the map, then back up to see Trajan standing at another doorway in the corner of the room. He spied Bishop and lifted his hand over his head, motioning towards something Bishop couldn’t quite make out. The half-breed hunter raised his own hands to show he was confused, and Trajan sent him a message a second later.

  “Trajan says there’s some weird chains on the floor by them. He can’t see where they go.”

  “Those chains?” Jimmy pointed his staff towards the heavy, darkened iron chains.

  Bishop followed them with his eyes and could just barely see nets, blending in with the walls and the pillars that still stood. How they were triggered though was something he could not fathom. Smirking at the idea it would finally satisfy Maverick’s annoyance at Jimmy falling under the spell of a siren, he nudged her and motioned towards Jimmy. She grinned wickedly and shoved her boyfriend forward without hesitation.

  Jimmy yelled in alarm as he tripped and fell over the chains, sprawling into the room. The leader on the throne leapt to his feet. His eyes were wide open and glowing red now. Gripping his staff hard, Jimmy stood and glared fiercely at Bishop and Maverick. The shifter blew him a kiss and he rolled his eyes.

  “Stop him!” the leader shouted.

  One of the chains rattled and clinked, and suddenly a net zoomed its way towards Jimmy. Bishop fired Fiery Arrow and the net disintegrated before it hit his friend. Now he could see the mechanism that ran amongst the smoke and shadows hovering over the room.

  “Watch above and below!” he yelled, as he charged into the room with Maverick and Willy.

  Trajan bellowed his battle cry and the rest of the players swarmed into the room from various doorways. Fighting broke out around him, with nets flying all over the place. Bishop and Giles took up the task of destroying the nets before they closed in around the other players, as they pushed forward towards the leader. One of the necromancers slammed his staff into the ground and a distant screech was the only warning they had before more zombies flowed into the room. Bishop glanced up at the leader’s face; he was grinning widely, as if knowing the heroes would never reach him.

  Bishop couldn’t wait to prove him wrong.

  “Shamus!” he hollered, and the elf hurried to his side. “Take the other shadow assassin from the LongBeards, kill the necromancers or we’ll never get passed the zombies.”

  Shamus nodded and shimmered out of sight. Bishop caught a fist to his face and another to his gut before he drew his dagger and Slashed and Stabbed his way through the throng of zombies.

  Ever so slowly, the group pushed forward while Shamus and the other assassin stayed hidden from view and struck out at the necromancers. One by one, they fell and, with them, the zombies’ numbers lessened. Bishop watched his health go down and drank a quick potion as the healers were busy keeping the tanks alive along the frontal assault. The last net was destroyed and they neared the dais where the occult leader fumed, watching as those under his command fell.

  “You pathetic heroes,” he ranted, when the last necromancer fell and the entire party stood before him. “You think you have come here to kill a man who is nothing?”

  “You look like nothing,” Trajan shot back, hefting his ax over his shoulder.

  The leader leered at them and slammed his staff into the ground. It trembled beneath their feet and a bolt of lightning shot to the floor. Stone exploded, and they were all thrown backwards as another bolt hit, and another.

  “His staff! Get the staff!” Trajan yelled.

  Bishop drew his Stunning Blow, but the occult leader easily deflected it. When he fired Silent Arrow though, that one hit home and the magic was interrupted, giving Trajan and Arthur a chance to charge up at him. The enemy fended off their attacks and swung his staff wide. When he slammed it into the ground, this time, a green dome fell over the three of them. Bishop smashed his palms against it, but he couldn’t get in. Maverick struck it several times, to no avail. It was down to those two fighting it out with the leader.

  Bishop and the others cheered them on as Arthur and Trajan tag teamed the leader, whose health depleted quickly. But then their adversary whirled around in a blur of green fire, and the two tanks lost half their health each.

  “That’s not fair!” Jimmy snapped.

  The tanks swallowed potions quickly. Unfortunately, the damage was too extensive, and it continued to eat away at their armor the longer they stayed in there. Jimmy and the other healers tried to cast heals. Nothing made it through the shield, though. The leader moved too fast for them to see. With luck, Trajan managed to time his hit just right. He charged up his power swing and, with a bellowing war cry, spun it around and caught the leader in the chest. Their foe staggered backwards and the shield disappeared.

  “You… you will lose,” he gasped, sinking to his knees. “He is not who you think… he is… he is… a traitor.” He sucked in one more dying breath before his life depleted and he collapsed to the floor.

  At the same time, a prompt appeared before everyone, checking off their goal for killing the leader of the cult. Still, the words he said with his dying breath did not sit well with Bishop.

  “Does anyone have enough for the bounties?” one of the LongBeards asked.

  A few of them murmured yesses, and Bishop checked his bags to see how many items he had collected to turn in. He had plenty of broken weapons and a few necklaces and rings. They looted the leader and each received a version of his head. But when Bishop checked his bag again, there was another item in there.

  You have received: Head of Necromancer Lachlan.

  You have received: Broken Crown of a Fallen King.

  Lachlan? With a frown, he dug into his bag to inspect the other item he had picked up earlier, the journal.

  Was the man they just killed the person these pages belonged to? It had to be, but then who the hell was he?

  Bishop gl
anced around. Apparently, no one else had secured the item. He decided to keep that bit to himself and cleared his throat loudly, taking one last long look at the body. The burnt and torn face looked familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it.

  “Right then, everyone good to leave?” Trajan asked. “Looks like there’s a back door over here, leads right out of the side of the palace and to the wall.”

  “Good, I’ve had my fill with skeletons and zombies,” Jimmy grunted. “And you two, I’m getting you both back for that stunt with the net.”

  Maverick shoved him forward, laughing as she told him she looked forward to it.

  Willy pushed his head against Bishop’s hand. “Yeah, me too,” the hunter whispered, meeting the wolf’s worried gaze. “Guess we’ll just have to go find Tavin and get some answers, huh boy?”

  Willy growled and bounded away. Bishop glanced one final time around the room, and set off with the others to leave what he called Old Weston in his mind.

  They hurried through the woods back to the Crossroads, but the sun was only breaking over the horizon for morning. He doubted it was close to dinnertime, though, and offered to take everyone to High Ridge at least for repairs and crafting. He was curious about the staff he picked up. All in agreement, he used his ability and took half the group while Giles transported the rest. When they opened their eyes, they were back in High Ridge. Bishop now had more questions than answers to what the main story was behind this game.

  Chapter 03

  Harrison hardly managed to get any sleep that night after they logged out for the day. What they found inside those walls kept his mind racing, wondering what Dennis cooked up to be the main story of Samar. He wanted to ask the old man, but he had a feeling he would simply give Harrison one of his signature winks with a knowing grin and chuckle as he walked away. He would get no answers the easy way. What he was happy about, at least, was that yesterday there was no sign of Valen interfering with him or the others at all. No voices in his head.

  And thankfully, no nightmares either.