Runeguard 041

Bayan didn’t like what I had to say.

But he didn’t dismiss my words out of hand as I feared he would. In a marked change from the previous times I had approached him, he listened attentively and respectfully.

When I was done, he turned to his guild members. “What does everything think?” he asked.

The six of us were sitting in a circle on the forest floor. “We should help,” Beth said promptly.

“It’s suicide,” disagreed Jorge. He looked at me. “No offence, Dace,” he went on, “but how can the six of us defeat what is likely to be a few thousand critters?”

“The Wardens will help,” I said.

“But you said yourself they’re at the Swampy Place dungeon.”

I nodded reluctantly. “That’s true, but if we can hold out until the Wardens return, we can at least save some of the town’s residents.” 

Jorge didn’t look convinced. 

“Look,” I said, “the six of us here are likely the strongest players in the Creche, and that was probably the case even before we entered the second dungeon. I’m willing to bet that you are all even stronger now.”

I searched their faces, but no one disagreed with my assertion. “If we don’t help, the crafters in town will stand no chance,” I said finally.

“You are asking us to risk our lives,” Lauren said quietly. She held up a hand to stop my protest. “Unlike you, we don’t have any rebirth tokens left. If we die in town, we die forever.”

I bowed my head. “I know.”

“And will it even make a difference?” Bayan asked.

I glanced at him. “What do you mean?”

He spread his hands open. “How long do we have until the Final Dissolution? Will we have enough time to fight off the assault on the town and get everybody to the exit portal?”

I frowned. It was a good point. “Adi?”

“The System will notify all players prior to the Creche’s Final Dissolution. This notification will arrive twenty-four hours before the event,” she replied.

“We will have a day’s warning before the Final Dissolution begins,” I said.

Bayan nodded, not questioning my knowledge.

“I’m with Dace and Beth,” Gavin said suddenly.

I looked at the youth in surprise. Given the fear that I had witnessed in him earlier, the earth mage was the last person I had expected to volunteer.

“Dying was horrible,” Gavin continued with an uneasy shudder. “And final death, I expect, will be worse. I won’t lie. It scares me, but dying taught me something, too. Our lives can be snuffed out in an instant, and if mine had been then, what meaning would it have had?”

The earth mage looked at his guildmates. “Nothing. That’s what. We are the best—or claim to be—but that means little if we don’t use our talents to help other people. Dace is right. We cannot only look to our own interests. We must help the town if we can.”

The other Paragons looked stunned. I was too. It was a speech wholly out of character with whom I had believed Gavin to be. Yet the youth’s speech gave me hope, too, not just for the town, but for humanity.

Perhaps, something good will come out of our time in the Proving Grounds, after all, I thought. Maybe… just maybe, mankind will emerge stronger as a people from the ordeal, and perhaps, we will find our common humanity again.

 “Well,” said Jorge after a moment of silence, “if Gavin’s bought into this foolhardy notion, I guess that leaves the rest of us with no choice. I’m in too.”

Lauren sighed and glanced at her sister. “Me too.”

Bayan nodded and turned to me with a humorless smile. “Well, Dace, it looks like the Paragons will be accompanying you back to town.”

✵ ✵ ✵

We wasted no time in resuming our journey.

Once more our party had fallen into silence. This time, though, there was a more thoughtful quality to it.

Gavin’s words, I sensed, had resonated with his fellow Paragons, and I was hopeful it boded well for the future.

Halfway back to town, we received confirmation that Adi’s predictions were well-founded as we all received another System message.

Creche Notice 1050-05

Attention, residents of Creche 1050. A building in Town 1050-A has been destroyed. The town is under attack by a horde of ratkin! If the town is destroyed the Final Dissolution will be initiated immediately. Defend the town at all costs!

You have acquired a new Creche task!

Creche Task 07: Defend the Town

You have been awarded the following task: defend the town.

Main Objective: Prevent every building in Town 1050-A from being destroyed.

Secondary Objective 1: Slay as many invaders as you can.

Rewards: +6 Essence Points and 1 silver for each ratkin killed.

The Paragons and I stopped dead in our tracks and stared at each other. “Did everyone else receive the task?” I asked.

The others nodded.

“It must be a Creche-wide task then,” Jorge said.

Bayan waved us forward. “Let’s hurry people. We have a town to save.”

Gavin grinned “And money to earn.” He glanced at Jorge as we resumed our jog to town. “I bet I can kill more ratkin than you.”

“You’re on,” Jorge said.

Lauren rolled her eyes. “Just try to stay alive boys,” she said.

“Yes ma’am,” the two said in near unison, causing the older blonde woman to sputter in indignation.

Not breaking step, Beth slapped Gavin on the back of his head. “Idiot,” she said fondly.

I smiled. Despite his earlier heartfelt speech, Gavin seemed to have resumed his irreverent persona. But I didn’t hold it against him, because now I knew what sort of man lay beneath. 

Gavin, I suspected, was someone I could grow to trust.

The rest of the Paragons seemed to be in fine spirits, too. I glanced at Bayan, who jogged beside me at the head of our small column. From his slightly perplexed expression, he had not missed the change in his people’s demeanor either.

“It seems,” he murmured softly, “that there is something to be said for being altruistic, after all.” He met my gaze. “It feels… good.”

I nodded, knowing what he meant. “How do we do this?” I asked, gesturing with my chin in the direction of the town, which was still about thirty minutes away.

“If there are as many ratkin as we suspect, our best bet would be to connect with whatever player forces remain in town and coordinate our efforts,” Bayan said. He paused. “But our first challenge will be getting into town. To do that we will have to cross through the camps outside, and I expect that right now, it’s swarming with ratkin. We will be most vulnerable there.”

I pursed my lips. Bayan was right. “We should approach the town from the east,” I said. Entering from the north through the cobbled highway was out of the question. It was the most open approach to the town, and if the ratkin were concentrated anywhere, it would be there.

The Paragon leader nodded in agreement. “Our biggest problem though, is lack of information. We know neither the ratkin’s numbers nor their disposition. We’ll be going in blind.”

I chewed my lip, considering the problem. “I think I just might have a way of resolving that.”

✵ ✵ ✵

A short while later, the Paragons and I were huddled just within the treeline, concealed from view and staring at the destruction ahead.

The camps were burning.

All over the open fields bordering the town, tents and wooden fences burnt, sending cloying smoke wafting into the air. 

The noise was deafening too.

Shrieks and shrill shouts cut through the air—all from ratkin. There were hundreds of them, running to and fro in the burning camp, and most disturbing of all: there were no humans in sight.

Have all the players been killed off already? I wondered.

But no, the town didn’t appear to be burning yet, at least from what I could see of it from this far away, and when I strained my ears, I could hear the faint clash of steel. Somewhere in the town, people were still fighting.

Now, only to figure out where they are and how to get to them.

I turned my attention onto the invaders themselves. The ratkin were small humanoid creatures, most of whom appeared less than half my own height. Each was covered in thick gray fur, was rail-thin, and darted agilely about. Even without my armor, I doubted I would be able to chase even the slowest of them down. 

None of the ratkin wore protective gear of any kind, though. Nor did they bear weapons of any sort. But from what Night had said earlier, they didn’t need any. The creatures’ infectious bites and claws were dangerous enough.

Focusing my gaze on a ratkin some fifty yards away, I studied it intently.

You have examined a ratkin and have perceived more of its nature. Your target is a level 5 ratkin scavenger.

At least, their levels aren’t very high, I thought. But they more than made up for that lack with their numbers.

“Who do you think started the fire?” Jorge asked.

I broke off my study of the invaders to face the air mage. “What do you mean?”

“It couldn’t have been the ratkin,” he said, pointing at the camp. “Look closely. See how they avoid the flames.” 

I scanned the burning fields again. The freckled youth was right, the ratkin were avoiding the flames, and quite obviously too.

“I bet all the gold I have, they’re afraid of fire,” Jorge said.

“You don’t have any gold,” Gavin said disparagingly. “The guild is broke, remember?”

“I think Jorge is onto something, but we can’t afford to make any assumptions,” Bayan said.

Confirmation came from another source. “The boy is right,” Night said. “The creatures dislike fire.”

I tilted my head to the side as I turned my attention inwards. “That’s good to know. Is there anything else about the ratkin you can tell us?”

I felt the black dragon’s shrug. “I know little more except what I’ve already shared with you,” Night said. She paused. “But there is one other thing…”

“Yes?”

“Ratkin have poor night vision, although I am not sure how knowing that is of any help.” I felt her momentary smile. “It is a favorite pastime of the Clan hatchlings to hunt the creatures in the dark.”

“Hmm,” I said. I couldn’t see how the information was of any use either. Human sight wasn’t great at night either. 

In fact, the only one of our forces that could see perfectly in the dark was Night herself, and on her own, there was not much of a dent she could make to the ratkin horde.

“Dace, you may be able to use the ratkin’s poor night vision to your advantage,” Adi said, speaking up unexpectedly.

My brows lifted in surprise. I was still getting used to the ‘new’ Adi’s tendency to volunteer information. Not that I was complaining.

“How Adi?”

“When a guardian’s spirit expertise skill reaches level ten, their spirit guard gets an ability called shared sight.”

I frowned, not understanding what she meant. Then it hit me. “Adi, are you saying I can borrow Night’s sight to see in the dark?”

“Correct, Dace, but only after your spirit expertise and spirit link skill both reach level ten.”

Now that was interesting but… I still wasn’t sure it was useful yet.

“Thank you, Adi,” I murmured and returned my awareness to my surroundings, only to find all the Paragons staring at me expectantly.

“What did you find out?” Beth asked.

I stared at her. “What do you mean?”

Lauren snorted. “Did you think we haven’t noticed, Dace?”

I kept my face expressionless. “Noticed what?”

Beth rolled her eyes. “Unlike the rest of us, you always seem to have a tad more information”—she tapped my head—“in there.”

I opened my mouth to protest that I didn’t, but the red-haired woman forestalled me. “We don’t want to know what your sources are. We understand you wanting to keep them secret. We’d feel the same.”

Bayan nodded. “Just tell us what you learnt, Dace.”

I looked from one Paragon to the other. They seemed convinced I knew something. I sighed. There was no use pretending otherwise. “Jorge is correct. The ratkin are afraid of fire. They also don’t see very well in the dark.”

Bayan frowned. “Good to know. How does it help us though?”

“It may not,” I admitted. “But our chances of holding the town should improve if we can keep the ratkin at bay until nightfall.”

“And how do we do that?” asked Gavin.

I ran my gaze slowly over the town again. “I may have an idea about that.”

The Paragons looked at me questioningly.

Raising my hand, I forestalled them. “Let me reconnoiter the town first.”

They stared at me aghast. “You’re not contemplating going down in that, are you?” Lauren asked.

I shook my head. “I’ll do it from here.”

Beth’s eyes narrowed. “How?”

I smiled. “Another of my little secrets,” I said.

She bit her lip but didn’t inquire further.

“Adi, how far away from me can Night venture at the moment?”

“Eighty yards, Dace. The limit of her spirit tether increases by ten yards for each rank you have in spirit link.”

“Good,” I said. “That should be far enough. Night, get as close to the town as you can, and tell me what you see.”

“As you wish, Dace,” she replied, streaming out of me in a colorless cloud, and leaving the Paragons none the wiser as she floated towards the town.

“Well?” Jorge asked impatiently. “Aren’t you going to be about it and cast whatever mysterious spell you have to scout the town?”

I glanced at him. “Who said it was a spell?”

He cast me a puzzled look. “What else can it be?”

“I’m here, Dace,” Night called across the link.

I glanced westwards. I could no more see the black dragon than the Paragons could, but through my spirit link, I sensed she hovered over the western edge of town.

“Tell me what you see,” I said.

“Your people have taken refuge within the town’s buildings. Bands of ratkin are roaming the streets and trying to break in. So far, their efforts appear haphazard and disorganized, especially in the southern and western parts of the town. The ratkin haven’t moved into those sections of town in large numbers yet. 

“Something appears to be holding the creatures’ attention in the town’s northeast quarter. That’s where the majority of their forces are concentrated. But the area is obscured by smoke, and I cannot clearly see the cause.”

Night paused. “Yet that region of the town seems to be the hardest hit so far. From the glimpses I can catch between the smoke, many of the buildings there have been destroyed. They lie empty with their doors battered down, their shutters broken, and their dead scattered amongst the debris. But the rest of the town is largely intact, the tavern included. There are green-cloaked archers on the roof. They’re firing down on the ratkin from above.”

I smiled in relief. So at least some of the Wardens were in town. “Where do you think most of the defenders are holed up?” I asked.

“I am not certain, but the largest structure in the center of the town is a squat square-shaped building southeast of the tavern. It is likely where most of your people are.”

I frowned, not recognizing the building, but Night’s words reminded me of something else. “What about the amphitheater? The large circular building on the hill to the south.”

“There are not many ratkin in that area, and the gates leading into it are closed and manned by humans.”

I nodded thoughtfully. “Now describe to me as best you can, which buildings still stand and the ratkin’s numbers and deployment.”