Name: Todd Longfellow, Race: Human

Height: 5’6”, Weight: 130, Sex: Male

Archetype: Fighter

HP: 18 / 18, Mana: 0 / 0

Stats:

Physical: 4, Moxie: 2, Spiritual: 2, Luck: 2

Agility: 2, Magic: 2, Mental: 2, Energy: 3.

Physical - Awareness, Physical - Grapple, Physical - Jump, Physical - Ram, Physical Melee – Sword

_________________

Todd rattled and clanged as he walked. Several weapons he couldn't fit inside the backpack were strapped to his back and chest. He imagined he probably qualified for an armor bonus with all the weapons: a battle axe with a long haft, one with a short haft, a long sword, a bastard sword, a short sword, a rapier, and a brace of daggers across his chest. In his left hand was a massive metal shield, almost bigger than him, five and a half feet high and two feet wide.

They met near the bar Todd had tried to bribe the guard at. Mark, Jax, Reggie, and even Henderson each tried to look like they had business in the empty streets a few hours after the sun had set.

In the distance, a clock tower announced the hour. Closer but still a ways away, someone on the watch yelled, "Ten o'clock, and all's well."

Mark whispered, "We start walking along the road, count to one twenty, then turn around and walk back. They should buy enough time for them to crash the wagon. Hopefully, they are on time."

"I should have stayed with them," Henderson muttered as he glanced to the west, looking for some activity from the guards.

"You can still go; we can handle this," Todd said. He immediately regretted the confidence as he remembered several other campaigns where a plan not only went sideways but inverse and then turned into an infinity loop.

As memories of the time-traveling device debacle came to mind, Todd turned to Mark and uttered, "Around and around again, time never ends."

"I still fucking hate your bard for that," Mark said.

For a moment, Todd felt hurt that Mark was truly angry at a previous character's actions. Cal had saved the party by creating a time loop, allowing them to create the exact conditions needed to defeat the overpowered boss or at least wear out Charise into making a stupid mistake. Er, Hunter, Todd stopped and had to correct himself mentally. Was it Hunter who ran the game, not Charisse, or was Hunter Charisse? Pushing the thought aside, Todd figured it was a problem for when they were out of this cursed game.

"In fact, when we rescue Charisse, I will tell her that you brought up Cal. I'd be surprised if she doesn't kill you just out of spite." Mark said, followed by a laugh. "What instrument did he play?"

"Steel drum," Todd smiled at the memory of his character. "When he was young and homeless, he banged on an old pot to make music while begging."

"Twenty," Jax said as he looked sternly at Todd and Mark. "Let's move; we don't have Cal's Drums of Silence to help us this time." He smiled at them, and they headed toward the section of wall near the main castle.

The stone wall of the castle rose high above them. The nearest gate inside was a good hundred feet to the left or right—the corner of the building was only ten feet from them. Forty feet above, a tower opened up where a guard would stand to watch.

Todd looked up toward the walkway; he saw no movement or anything to give away. Someone was up there. As he scanned the battlement, he thought he spotted something near where a torch lit up the area behind the stone.

"I think I see someone," Todd said in a low voice as he continued walking.

"Fuckity," Mark spat but held back after the first word. "Keep moving. Let's get eyes on them and see if they'll move."

The sound of a bell ringing grabbed everyone's attention. The group stopped thirty feet from the castle wall. No one else stood around them. Along the border above, a helmet poked out, but the stone still hid the face and person.

"Fuck it, we don't have a second shot; I'll throw up a field to protect us from arrows," Mark said as he turned and started walking back toward the castle.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

The group followed Todd, moving ahead to get to the wall first. Todd stood, sword drawn, ready to leap into the hole Mark would make in the stone.

As if made of putty, the stone started moving, spreading apart. Todd tensed up to leap in as soon as the hole appeared. As the stone separated, a hole maybe a foot and a half wide opened; Todd lept in, sword first.

Something held Todd in midair, a greenish tint coloring his vision. A burning sensation covered his arm and upper torso. He immediately closed his eyes and held his breath as he tried to kick and wiggle backward. A thick liquid seeped through the cracks and gaps in his armor and clothing, burning when it touched his skin.

He felt something grab his foot instinctively. He kicked, but something else grabbed on and pulled. Someone extracted him from the goo, and he coughed and spat, trying to expel any that got inside his mouth and nose. Jax and Reggie helped clough away what still stuck to his armor as cool healing energy flowed through him.

"Odd didn't expect that in the walls," Mark said.

"How?" Todd sputtered as he shook off the slime that still clung to him. Some of his extra weapon sheaths fell off as the acid weakened the cheap clasps. Todd carefully nudged them in a pile to the side as he regained calm.

"I'm guessing they don't have a shape; they just fill the container?" Mark said. He stretched out a hand, and a lance of ice shot out. The lance pierced the slime, some freezing instantly and breaking off. "How'd we kill the last one?" Mark asked as he watched the slime slowly fill in the hole in itself.

"We blender-ized it," Todd said. He stepped forward, stabbed into the goo with his sword, and started twisting and moving it through the creature. As Todd worked at liquefying the gelatin creature, Mark stepped to the side and opened another hole in the wall. Reggie started slamming his warhammer into the opening. The goo gushed out of both openings each time it hit the beast, coating their boots. The footwear sizzled as the acidic gel tried to eat through the treated leather.

"This is taking too long," Todd said as he stabbed into the gel, but more slid down from above to start filling the hole.

"Stand back," Mark held out both hands and waited for Todd and Reggie's weapons to clear the holes.

With the momentary suspension of attack, the slime oozed down and filled in the holes that had been made in it. The stone on the wall parted, allowing the two smaller holes to merge, making a larger hole. Around the hole's edge, a stone wall started forming, making a tunnel opening to the slime.

"Push the cylinder into the slime," Mark said.

Todd realized what Mark had done. He dropped his sword, pulled back fifteen feet, then crouched low like Coach always taught and charged forward, leading with both hands to catch the rim of the stone tube.

Todd hit the stone, his hands catching and starting the push as the rest of his weight came up from behind. As his shoulders and chest hit, he pushed it sharply back until it slammed against the stone on the other side. As the cylinder severed the gelatinous creature, the tissue immediately liquified, turning into a torrent of green slime washing over Todd's mouth and neck.

The taste of bile washed into Todd's mouth from the slime; as it hit his tongue, bile rose from his stomach. He turned his head quickly enough to avoid it covering his face, but as the acidic slime flowed out, it burned his lips, tongue, skin, and hair. Pain and nausea filled him as he moved away from the torrent. He tried to reach out a hand to hold himself up as his stomach added the acid and bile to the ground.

His hand didn't find any support, causing him to stumble before firm hands grabbed him by the shoulders. The cool wave of healing erased the pain on the outside, but the taste of vomit and bile remained. Todd spat a few times to get everything out that he could. As he looked up, Reggie was almost through the hole, with Henderson getting ready to follow. Jax stood nearby with his head looking up towards the parapets.

"Let's go," Todd said as he straightened up. He moved back near the opening and lowered his hands to help boost Henderson. "Can you go feet first?"

Footsteps from inside and faint yelling confirmed Todd's sense of urgency.

Henderson nodded, and with Todd's help, he pulled himself up and thrust his feet forward in the stone tube. As Henderson pulled his arms in, Todd pushed him through the opening. He beckoned Jax, who shook his head.

"No time to argue; if Reggie goes down, he'll need healing." Todd pointed into the hole with a stern finger. Jax sighed and lept to go in feet first through as well. "Mark, I need you on that side to close if they surround this side before I get in."

"But then we'll have no," Mark interrupted himself with a nod and was able to hop in after Jax.

Todd had spoken without thinking or verifying if anyone was coming for them. He quickly looked around the area to double-check.

He didn't see anyone nearby or seemed to be interested in them. He thanked the gods and climbed into the hole head first.

Pain exploded in Todd’s left foot as something stabbed him in the ankle.

“Fuuuck!” Todd screamed in pain as something grabbed his foot and pulled. Something else tugged at a scabbard hooked to his waist. With one hand holding the stone tube's edge, he caught the first thing he could with his other hand: Mark’s arm.

Mark cursed as Todd jerked him against the wall.

“Help,” Todd said. He grabbed the edge of the stone hole with his other hand and tried pulling. Pulling through the pain in his foot, he managed to hook an elbow around the edge and gain a few precious inches at the cost of the knife in his foot digging into a bone. He felt hands reaching for his other foot as somebody twisted the blade.

“I can’t see over your backpack,” Mark said as he pulled a dagger and leaned toward the straps.

“My…” Todd was interrupted by another surge of pain as his other foot was stabbed with something. The blade didn't stick in and was quickly dislodged.

Mark reached over and cut the backpack straps and tried to pull it out, but it wouldn’t fit around Todd’s head and outstretched arms. Using his dagger, he cut the already weakened shoulder straps on the backpack and pushed it towards Todd’s feet.

“Need healing,” Mark called out.

Reggie was quickly by their side; he lay a hand on Todd.

“This may hurt,” Mark said. Todd clenched his teeth and lowered his head, holding onto the stone to prevent himself from being pulled out.

A lance of ice materialized from Mark’s hand. It raced down the tube, hitting the backpack, throwing it out of the wall and into the guards holding Todd. Chunks of ice exploded and fell across Todd’s back, most pinging off his armor, a couple of sharp slivers hitting him in the back of his head and neck.

“Fuckity fucking rope,” Mark said. “Reggie, heal him again.”

“Done,” Reggie said as he touched Todd, easing his pain and suffering with healing. Todd fought against the calming effect of the healing and tried to come up with a way to get rid of the rope tied around his right foot.

“Pull me through,” Todd said.

“No, and I’m sorry,” Mark said.

Todd didn’t have time to feel betrayed by Mark's statement. His friend held out a hand, and a glowing ball of red appeared from it. Todd didn’t see the fireball fly through the stone hole but felt the explosion.

Fire mixed with agony as the dagger stuck in his foot heated up and seared him from the inside. Whatever was holding his feet disappeared, and Todd tumbled into the hallway. As pain and tears blinded him, he cursed Mark’s name as he pulled out the dagger from his foot.

Reggie knelt by him and healed him, then stood up and offered a hand.

“You can kill Mark when we’re done,” Reggie promised.

Todd stood up and tried to orientate himself. The hallway looked similar on both sides, with a slight curve as it followed the walls to the keep. Jax stood at one end, splattered in blood near a door. Henderson stood at the other end, holding a door closed. The hole in the wall was gone.

“Wheres is the hole?” Todd said.

“I closed it on this side,” Mark said. “But I left the other side open enough for them to deal with the slime.”

“I’m still going to kill you,” Todd said, his anger still fresh. He reached for his weapons and found only a single longsword. “Crap, my gear.”

“I’m sure we’ll pass by an armory,” Mark said. “Let's get moving. Jax, can you push forward?”