Ghostbusters
An hour later, the strike teams, every available Paladin above level ten, and a few additional Clerics were gathered in the courtyard of the Vanguard guild building ready to head out. Tom found Kedron milling about with the members of his team and moved to pull him aside.
"I'm putting you in charge of the other Paladins. I trust you and know you'll lead well. Can you do that for me?" Tom asked him.
"Sure thing. Thanks for the show of trust." Kedron replied.
Turning to face the crowd that had gathered, Tom addressed them all, "Everyone listen up! This is Kedron, and he will be in charge of the Paladins. Do as he says and we stand a good chance of this being a clean sweep."
"Thanks, Tom. We need to stand ready with holy and light-based abilities. Ghosts and undead are what we are likely to face, and they are tricky bitches. I want Paladins surrounding the building so that we can ensure we don't let this slippery asshat escape." Kedron began, addressing everyone present. "I'll leave the rest to you and Derek, Tom."
"Great. We can do this. We just need to ensure that we are careful. I don't want any heroes." Tom said, looking to Derek who had always said those words to him.
"Damn straight! That includes you." Derek looked at Tom, his helmet hiding his facial expressions.
"We are going to hit them hard and fast once this all does down. Let the Rogue team move in first to give us an idea of what we are up against, then we move in. We can expect a lot of specters this time. So you Paladins are the key to victory." Tom spoke again. "If you get an opening, take it and kill Jeffery. You'll know him because he could have been put on the side of a bucket of KFC extra crispy chicken. Otherwise, I'll take that bastard down myself."
Scanning the faces of those assembled, Tom was surprised to see Father Blakely in the crowd. He gave the man a nod as he continued.
"We strike soon. Ready yourselves." Tom finished and walked over to the walls to take a moment for himself.
Walking up the steps and looking out over the city, Tom felt a moment of peace as he stood in the silence. The air was cleaner now. The factories had stopped their production, and with the lack of vehicles running in the streets, the smell of exhaust had dissipated. Breathing the cleaner air, Tom remembered spending time with his family in the mountains as a child.
Cold nights and warm days had been the way of their time in the mountains. The world was changing. With the rising of the ocean levels, there was now a breeze that passed through Dallas with a slight brine smell to it. Gone were the times where blazing heat consumed the day and barely left when the sun set, leaving you sweating at ten o'clock at night. People were the problem. Now the Earth's burden had been lightened. Though it had been filled with monsters to take its place.
"Everything alright?" Derek asked as he walked up behind Tom and looked out at the city as well.
"Just taking a moment to think," Tom replied. "The world is changing. And I don't like it."
"The world already changed," Derek pointed out, turning his head slightly to give Tom a sarcastic look as he removed his helmet.
"You know what I mean. Things have been moving in another direction again. Not just the monsters and fighting. Something's coming. And I'm not sure if it’s the Space Pirates or something else." Tom said.
"Life makes change. It’s one of the few constants. Though, thinking about it now, the other was taxes and those are finally fucking gone." Derek said, crossing his arms over his chest and chuckling.
"Fucking hell. Yeah, I don't miss that at all. Are you saying we need to implement taxes?" Tom joked as he couldn't hold back a smile of his own.
"No, of course not. At least not yet. With the vending machines providing for us, we can hold out on a base economy until later. I'm just talking about change. It never stops. You just have to roll with it." Derek replied.
"If anyone has been fucking rolling with the punches, it’s me. I didn't want any of this. I just wanted to protect my friends." Tom said, the smiling fading from his face as he felt the burden of leading Vanguard heavily in that moment.
"I'm aware. It's uncomfortable because its growth. We are inclined to want to stay where we are comfortable. That's how our ancestors found homes. They put down roots where they rested for too long because they got comfortable. The ones who made it big in times like the gold rush and land grabs were the ones that stepped out of that comfort zone and pressed forward. Not stopping until they reached their goal." Derek said as he looked up at the stars that could now be clearly seen without the light pollution of the city.
"But this wasn't my goal. This situation was forced on me." Tom replied.
"Maybe. But it’s part of protecting your friends. Keeping people safe. And you're doing a great job. Just keep them in mind and you'll always make the right decision." Derek said.
"And remember, if you ever get tired of it, you can just kill them all," Maria piped in.
"For fuck's sake," Tom said.
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"What?" Derek asked.
"Oh, not you, it was Maria again," Tom said shaking his head.
"Let's just get moving for now. We need to get to the location." Derek offered as he turned and headed for the stairs down from the wall.
Tom turned to follow him but paused and looked back at the dark city one last time. Sighing heavily, he walked down the stairs and rejoined the group.
A guard opened the gates for them, and the teams made for the northern side of the city. Moving quickly, no one complained about the pace they made and soon the teams had gathered at the edge of the downtown area.
"From here, Jay, take your team and scout the building for us. We should be out of sight and hidden enough to remain undetected." Tom said.
Nodding, Jay made a motion with a hand and he, Sean, and the other rogues disappeared into the shadows. Everyone else waited in the cover of a building they had chosen for cover.
"Kiera, take a team and watch for any enemies we might miss. They had scouts before, and I don't want to be seen until its time." Tom ordered.
"On it," Kiera replied as she moved to take a few people with her to set up a perimeter.
"Anything we can do for now?" Kedron asked.
"You're supposed to be the one making that call. I put you in charge of them after all." Tom replied.
"True. I just wanted to make sure you didn't have any orders that might override mine." Kedron said, deferring to Tom for his approval.
"Nope. Your ballgame this time. We'll adjust to your strategy. I just want the Kentucky Fried leader." Tom smiled at Kedron.
Giving a thumbs up, Kedron returned to the Paladins to get them into position. Jay returned about a half hour later to give a report.
"Numbers are still down, but there are a lot of them. And that Kentucky Fried asshole has more specters now too." Jay reported. "The good news is, there are only two exits to cover. So, we should be able to crowd them to those places to keep them funneled into a kill zone."
"Unless the ghosts just walk through the walls," James added, nonchalantly cleaning his nails with a knife.
"Jeffery is who we're after. Paladins and Clerics should be able to deal with the intangible enemies." Tom reminded him. "No need to worry too much about that. What about defenses?"
"Doesn't seem to be too much. A few crude traps. Nothing deadly. They were clearly in a hurry and in the end, it’s still goblin tech so its primitive." Jay replied.
"Good. Then get the teams in place. I want this building surrounded in ten minutes. I've got a little surprise for our southern belle inside." Tom said as he smiled maniacally.
Derek worked with the assigned team captains to get all the fighters into place. Jay left one member of his team with each captain so they could communicate through hand signals with each other. When everyone was in place, they motioned to each other, and Tom looked through his inventory for his special surprise.
Pulling out a grenade, a bottle of grain alcohol, and a rag he prepared a special Molotov cocktail which he used his Eldritch Blast spell held in his hand to light the rag. The green fire crackled and spit angrily as it burned the cloth. Tom stood from his crouched position and aimed for one of the high windows. Using his new Strength, he lobbed the bottle at the window. With perfect aim, it shattered the cheap thin glass of the window and landed inside, shattering when it hit the ground.
A shriek of surprise sounded when the fire began to spread, and it was picked up by other goblins as they saw the commotion inside. Pulling the pin from the grenade, Tom threw it as well at the window and crouched down again, putting his fingers in his ears.
Flying true again, the grenade soundlessly flew through the same window, which was already broken, and landed with a tinking sound inside the building. The explosion that followed sent a small vibration through the ground as the green flames grew from small tendrils to a large blast when mixed with the explosives in the grenade.
Screams of surprise, pain, and anger all rose at once from the new explosion and the doors burst open as goblins began to flee from the spreading fires and the danger inside. As this happened, the teams ready with weapons began to fire on the escaping goblins. Soon a pile began to form in front of the doors that the others had to try to climb over to get out. After more and more continued to try to escape, the bodies piled up high enough that they could no longer get out of the building and their wails and screams grew in pitch as they panicked.
Banging could be heard on the walls as some tried to smash their way out. Others tried climbing to the windows but were also shot down there. Soon the ethereal forms of the specters began to pass through the walls trying to find anyone they could attack. Brilliant lights shone throughout the area around the warehouse as Paladins and Clerics activated Holy spells and skills to blast the incorporeal foes with.
The ghastly cries of the specters as they exploded or were burned from the touch of Holy abilities joined the screams from the warehouse. Inside, Tom heard one angry voice rise above the others.
"DAMN YOU, TOM! DAMN YOU AND YOUR GUILD!" the voice cried out above the din as the building continued to burn.
Soon the sounds of screams and yells subsided and the only sound that could be heard was the crackling of the fire and the groaning of the building as the supports began to give way. After another ten minutes of watching the blazing building, the roof began to collapse, and the building fell in on itself with a crash.
"I guess that's that," Jay said staring into the flames with a serious look on his face.
"No. We don't leave until we confirm the death." Tom said, no emotion showing at all, the light of the fire reflecting in his eyes as he stared at it.
Finally, the message he had been waiting for appeared in his combat log. Jeffery was dead. He turned without a word and began to walk back to the guild building. The others followed after, no one saying a word as they left the scene of devastation behind them.