Five hundred yards of brutality stretched ahead, and even though Kris had apparently managed to cobble together something resembling a plan, Lorelei couldn’t shake the feeling that it was only a matter of time before someone was smeared across it. The most she could hope for, right now, is for it wouldn’t be her . . .
***That’s the Spirit Message***
"Fucking hell. Let’s get this over with!" As she bundled past, Hild gave Lorelei an unnecessary nudge and a death glare as if, somehow, all this was her fault. She missed that simpler age – you know, forty-eight hours ago? - when Hild’s unreasonable enmity was the most dangerous thing she had to worry about.
And then it was on. At Kris’s signal, Steffan directed his Zombie Cheerleaders to rise - increasingly skeletal and more than slightly ridiculous as they did their customary pom-pom wave – and charge into the killing field. Although the Necromancer had gained the ability to summon them back after each fresh pounding, it did appear that . . . less of them reconstituted each time. Lorelei wondered how many more obliterations their fragile forms could take before there was simply nothing left to animate. She suspected this last stretch of the obstacle course might well test that out.
As the Cheerleaders flipped, danced and vaulted forward, they almost immediately triggered every trap going: spinning blades erupted from the floor with a whoosh, slicing into the legs and waists of Steffan’s former friends with catastrophic violence. Bones and spilt viscera were scattered across the ground, making Steffan stagger, but he fought to keep his focus, drawing on more and more necrotic energy to resummon them every time they fell.
“Keep going, love, you’re doing brilliantly!” Chrissy said, hugging him tightly in a barely tolerated embrace as she prepared to play her role in the escape effort. “Here I go!” Without another word, she charged forward, leaping from one platform to the next, her borrowed Berserker instincts kicking in as she easily closed the distance to the narrow beams. With all the traps busy slicing and dicing the Cheerleaders, Chrissy made it comfortably through the first section, but then caught a massive explosion in the face from one of the snake statues. The fire licked up and down her skin, but her
***Motivational Message***
I know it’s a combination of a Charm Leech scrambling her brain, a massive rush of endorphins from a borrowed Berseker Class, all whipped up by whatever hidden, devastating emotional trauma led her into a life of exotic dancing, but there’s something quite liberating about seeing someone living their best life this close to the edge. You know what, you could do worse than follow in her footsteps. I mean, not now, obviously. Try any of this at the moment and you’d be turned into paste, but more generally. Philosophically. What I’m saying is that you could stand to embrace her outlook on life more. Basically, be more stripper.
Lorelei ignored the message as Zorrobar did his best to follow in Chrissy’s footsteps. The Fire Mage moved with far less reckless abandon, but the glowing ball of fire hovering above his head ran successful interference to any number of dangers that Operation Cheerleader Shield missed. As he jogged forward, his face was tight with concentration, lips moving as he muttered incantations under his breath.
“Watch it!” Hild called out, alerting him just in time to move the fireball toward the electrified chains swinging wildly overhead. The chains recoiled from the heat, and for a moment, it seemed like they might have caught a break. Then, with a snap, the chains swung back with renewed fury, the air around them crackling. For a big man, Zorrobar moved extremely quickly, throwing up shield after shield of flame, but even then the arcing electricity got through to sear his skin before he could dodge completely. He groaned, stumbling forward, his face drenched in sweat. Objectively, both he and Chrissy were in a terrible state and they were the two most sorted to these obstacles, Lorelei thought.
“Don’t stop, Z!” Chrissy yelled, dodging a pendulum swing that nearly took her head off. “You are doing just fine! Just keep blasting those chains before they get too close to us!”
And then the rest of the group were following in the opening they had created. Pete and Hild stood on the outside of the others, trying to shield the squashier members of the group from the worst of the damage. They took a frightful battering for their trouble. Michael and Michelle pinged in and out of their shadow portals, seemingly staying clear of trouble, even the smallest strike of fire or electricity caused them significant damage. The rest of them had only luck and Kris’s heals on their side.
Lorelei tried to keep up with the headlong rush, her feet moving on autopilot as she followed in their wake, but without any of her Skills, she could not help but feel she was a sitting duck. Then Zorrobar let out a gasp as one of the pendulum blades chopped into his arm, his HP falling dangerously low. Kris was next to him in seconds, his hand glowing with a soft light. “Hold still,” he ordered as a rush of healing energy poured into the Fire Mage.
"Thanks," Zorrobar said, but the pain in his voice was evident. He staggered back to his feet, forcing himself to continue. Another fireball flew from his hand, clearing a path through the frost-rune corridor ahead, though his movements were slower now. That hardly seemed like a good sign this early on in, Lorelei thought.
Kris opened his hands wide, casting another wave of healing, this time spreading it across the team. He visibly staggered as the strength of his casting purged all of his mana, and Ent swooped down an arm to catch him. The tanks - still holding the edges of the formation - grunted in thanks and stood a little taller under the onslaught hitting them. Hild gave a curt nod of thanks, while Pete just grinned and flashed a thumbs-up.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
***Help Message***
Isn’t it fun watching your ex run a little Jesus camp? Such a great motivator. Look at their little faces. They love him, don’t they?
Lorelei swatted the Guide’s message away, eyes firmly back on her next steps on the course. She couldn’t help but feel Kris was laying it on thick. Sure, he was pretty much keeping them alive singlehandedly, but even so . . . every heal, every bit of advice he gave the team, just served to tighten his hold on their emotions even more. It gnawed at her, the way the others looked at him like he was their saviour. She thought she knew what he was really doing with all the self-sacrifice, but that didn’t stop the rest of them from falling for it. And Fortuna wanted her to win him back to their side? Please!
A shout from ahead whipped Lorelei’s gaze up. Chrissy was swearing, dropping to one knee as took more and more direct hits from the he stone snake statues. She threw up an arm to block it before it took her again in the face. Her
“On it,” Kris called back, and another surge of light surrounded Chrissy, boosting her health. She gave a whoop of approval, crashing a fist through the first statute before springing on to attack another.
Despite their progress, the course wasn’t letting up. The next wave of traps sprang up to smash into the Cheerleaders as they reached the halfway point. More spinning, twirling blades sliced through Steffan’s army with ease, but each time they were destroyed, Steffan summoned them again. His face had gone grey, and there was a slight tremor in his hands. Every resummon clearly cost him dearly, but he didn’t let up – even sending CCMD forward to supplement their press. Lorelei would have felt better if he’d seemed as concerned about the fate of Chrissy, as he was showing for his creatures, but she figured the change to his personality was a problem to consider for another day.
Then they were in the next section—a corridor lined with frost traps, shimmering in the faint light. In theory, this would be Zorrobar’s time to shine, but he was still struggling, the power behind his fire spells dimming even as he downed mana potions with every step. Michael and Michelle popped in and out of their portals to help, but Lorelei could sense things were right on the edge of slipping out of control, and she knew it couldn’t be long before someone human took a hit Kris couldn’t mitigate.
As if one cue . . . “We’re almost there,” Kris shouted, his voice somehow still full of that infuriating confidence. “Stick together. One more push!”
A biting cold that sent a chill straight to Lorelei’s bones. She could see her breath in front of her, tiny clouds puffing out as she ran. "Bitch, keep close," Hild said, grabbing her by the collar and pulling her along, her axe smashing through sheets of ice materialising to hold up their progress. Pete was right behind her, shoulder lowered to add extra weight to his repeated trigger of
Zorrobar stumbled against Lorelei, his skin pale, his robes singed and torn from earlier hits. "I’m running on fumes," he gasped and it wasn’t hard to see: his usual bravado was gone.
***Help Message***
Big Dude’s not lying, babes; he’d officially circling the drain. On the plus side, since your Necromancer seems to have lost his queasiness, he’ll be back up in no time . . .
Lorelei patted his shoulder and tried to get Kris’ attention. This was pretty hard to do without groaning ecstatically. Eventually, he heard her and looked back her way – but she was fairly sure he’d deliberately taken his time. Zorrobar visibly shuddered as he was bathed in the golden glow. Then the frost runes pulsed, their magic-seeking targets, and Zorrobar’s fire flickered in response, his flames struggling against the sheer cold. Michael and Michelle teleported again, this time grabbing Chrissy by the arm and pulling her out of the range of an icy blast.
"Thanks!" Chrissy called out, her HP dangerously low but her grin still firmly in place. She let out a roar, swinging her fists at a nearby rune, shattering it into pieces. The frost in the air lightened just a little.
They burst out of the frost corridor into a final chamber, and a confrontation with the Stone Golem was waiting. It stood at least three times their height, and its fists were more than capable of turning any one of them into yesterday’s coleslaw.
"Right," Pete said, his voice steady as he squared up to the towering monstrosity. "Anyone fancy takin' this big lad down, like?"
Chrissy cracked her knuckles, her grin widening. "I’m in. Let’s smash this thing."
Hild didn’t waste words. She ran forward, axe raised, ready to take the Golem’s first blow. The others fanned out, positioning themselves strategically around the chamber.
The Golem moved with surprising speed, one of its massive fists crashing down toward Hild. She absorbed the impact with a grunt of effort, but it was clearly a shock. Pete darted in from the side, swinging his shield into the Golem’s leg. "Come on, ya big lump!" he shouted, trying to draw its attention. The Golem turned, its glowing eyes locking onto Pete.
Zorrobar, barely able to stand, threw his last fireball at the Golem’s chest, the flames crackling weakly as they connected. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to distract the creature for a second as Ent and CCMD added their own, undead, assaults. Michael and Michelle popped in and out, but their blades were making little impact on the monster’s hide.
Lorelei watched the developing stalemate with frustration. “Guide,” she thought, “isn’t there anything I can do to help here?” A huge sweep of the Golem’s arm sent Chrissy sprawling to the floor. Steffan did not even glance towards her, directing his Cheerleaders into the fray.
***Help Message***
Funny you should mention that . . .