Chapter 74 – The Barracks Job Part 2

Jack pulled his dagger out of a shadowstalker skull, panting slightly as he bent down to get a better look at the corpse. The tunnels were so dimly lit he had to hold the skull inches from his face to make out any detail. This had the unfortunate side effect of highlighting its smell, an odor something between moldy beer and unwashed taint. Killing the creatures wasn’t difficult so much as it was annoying. It was like trying to fight a bunch of over caffeinated shadows in a pitch-black room.

Onem, for his part, seemed perfectly capable of dispatching the monsters, but Jack lagged behind as he tried to inspect just what exactly it was he had killed. They were the general draugr shape only slightly smaller with a lean build. Their skin was pitch black and devoid of any sort of features aside from a mouth they used for wholly unnecessary screeching that made Jack’s butt pucker every time he heard it.

“Is that all of them?” Onem asked from somewhere in the cramped tunnel.

“No idea. I can’t see shit. You’re mister ‘Darkness is my domain’” Jack said, doing his worst impression of Onem. “So, you tell me.”

“Let’s move out then,” Onem said, not acknowledging Jack.

“Hey! This is my mission! I’m the one who gets to say let’s move out.” Jack said petulantly into the darkness.

The darkness didn’t reply back.

After a long moment Jack loudly cleared his throat.

“Allright, lets move out.” He said feigning bravado to the ever present darkness before chasing after Onem’s voice in the distance.

The tunnel was long and winding, but in no way could it be accused of being well lit. The only sign of an enemy presence that Jack could make out was tripping over the occasional corpse, as Onem was killing guards without any notice or warning.

With every step into the dark tunnel, Jack’s suspicions that Onem was leading him down some back alley to kill him off grew stronger

Eventually, Jack spotted the faint glowing of lights in the distance. He picked up his pace to gain ground on Onem only to crash into the back of his new ‘teammate’. Onem had stopped short, just outside the reach of the lights, and Jack sat in a heap on the ground behind him trying to decide if his nose was now broken.

“What the hell?” Jack said as he squinted in the dark, checking his nose for blood.

“The halfway point, a small contingent of troops is kept posted here. They’ll have noticed their patrol units we picked off haven’t returned, so they are very likely ready to receive us.” Onem said matter of factly.

Jack stood up in a huff and shoved past the draugr towards the waiting enemy. He had been incredibly bored up to this point and was looking forward to fighting something he could actually see. He took out his daggers, holding them lazily as he walked into the torchlight that cascaded off the walls. The tunnel passageway opened up into a small room that could hold maybe ten or so people comfortably.

Onem was right. The draugr were at the ready.

Jack walked out of the shadow of the passageway and into full light, his eyes falling from target to target as he gave them a quick but thorough inspection. Five large draugr berserkers filled out the room, each with a menacing spear to match. He couldn’t help but notice that each one of their spears was pointed directly at himself.

Jack flashed a smile of pure exhilaration before charging headlong into the fray-

Before he could reach his target, three black beams shot out of the shadows from behind Jack, taking off the head of three of the draugr. Onem then emerged from the shadows behind the two remaining draugr, his own massive staff in hand as he removed their heads with swift herculean swings.

Jack let out a long beleaguered sigh. He was starting to forget that his partner for this mission was a literal dungeon boss and apparently a professional party pooper. Onem was likely to ruin all the fun for him.

So. Fucking. Selfish.

“Ready?” Onem asked, completely disregarding the dejected-looking Jack.

“I guess…” Jack said with a melancholy tone, dragging his feet after the draugr.

Beyond the halfway encampment, the tunnel was lit with torches that lined the walls, which gave Jack hope he might yet see what he was fighting. The occasional spear wielding berserker blocked their path, but posed little threat beyond being a nuisance. Bored again, Jack had turned it into a competition of sorts to see who could reach the draugr’s first and kill them.

Onem was winning,but Jack was pretty sure he was also cheating.

“Quit hitching a ride in my shadows, damnit! This isn’t a ride share, they’re my shadows!”

“What is this… ride share? I’ve seen no means of transportation. I see no steeds to ride.” Onem inquired from somewhere Jack couldn’t see.

“Well you’re riding my ass. STOP IT.” Jack snapped back as went in for the final draugr.

Onem jumped out of his shadow to kill the screeching creature moments before Jack could bury his daggers in its skull.

“I do not think a donkey would be an effective means of transport in this barracks.” Onem said blankly

Jack let out another long sigh. He wasn’t sure, but he felt like Onem was fucking with him. He was positive Onem was trying to annoy him and that annoyed Jack because that was his schtick. He was the one that got to annoy his once enemy now teammate, not the other way around.

Is this what it’s like to work with me? Jack thought to himself.

His new introspection was tugging at something in his brain, on the cusp of unlocking some new realization, just before he heard Onem speak and he shook the feeling away.

“We’re close.” Onem said, staring down the passageway. “Do you still remember the plan?”

“Nope. I tend to phase out a bit during those kinds of meetings. You’ll have to lead the way once we’re inside. Where is it spitting us out again, anyway?”

“The kitchens, located on the first floor. The pantries, to be specific. Draugr don’t exactly eat, unless commanded to of course, so it should be in disuse.”

Jack nodded, motioning for Onem to lead the way.

One thing he did recall from the attack plan meeting was that the barracks proper housed all the elite of Authun’s army. All the regular soldiers were on watch or camped outside. Knowing Jacks proclivities in situations like this, Hannah had given him several pointed reminders not to fuck around inside of the barracks. If he was caught before Onem could seize control of the draugr forces, that would likely be his last mistake.

The tunnel came to a dead end at a brick wall. Onem stepped up to it with a deliberate gaze before confidently reaching out and pressing one of the bricks, pushing it into the wall. A large door cut itself out of the wall, jutting open slightly.

“I’ll go first and make sure it’s clear.” Onem said.

“No. I’m going first.” Jack protested, kicking open the door before Onem could stop him. The two men spilled out into a kitchen that was filled with dust and rotting furniture.

“Wow. Would it kill this Authun guy to put a few draugr on clean up duty? Maybe spring for a Roomba?”

“You fool.” Onem hissed. “We’ve entered the belly of the beast and you jest.”

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“You’re just angry you didn’t get to enter first.” Jack said, pulling out a dagger and throwing it hard at a patrolling draugr who rounded the corner into the kitchen. The dagger sunk firmly in the monster's skull and the draugr’s glowing red eyes went lifeless as it slumped to the floor.

“See. You’re so worked up that you’re not even paying attention anymore. I just saved your life”

Onem scoffed and focused intensely on another part of the room.

Jack smirked, retrieving his dagger – Onem had been far too straightforward for his taste. He needed a bit of chaos to make a mission feel just right. Jack had restored the balance.

“So where is everyone? Doesn’t seem very active for a barracks full of draugr on the brink of war.” Jack whispered, noticing it was suspiciously quiet in the barracks.

“A stroke of luck.” Onem said, “Since the army is on high alert to fend off any attacks from the queen, the elites are likely out on patrol.”

“This is why stupid plans, or even no plans, are always the best plans.” Jack nodded along. “People say to themselves: Surely my enemies wouldn’t do something this stupid! So, they don’t prepare for it. And then we go and do something that stupid because they were to stupid to put a stupid plan together in the first place that was better than our stupid plan.. and then guess who is left looking stupid?”

“Umm….us?” Onem asked, clearly not following.

“No stupid. THEM.That was always the philosophy for our jobs back home, at least.” Jack said, taking a reminiscent tone.

“I can’t say I envy your team member, Hannah, having to work with a person such as yourself.”

“You’re just jealous because you never would have made the cut. Now, where the hell are we supposed to go?”

Onem rolled his eyes. “The clock is ticking now that you’ve recklessly killed one of the patrols inside. We must hurry to Authun’s chambers before any of the guards realize someone is missing and starts investigating.”

Jack nodded , looking down at the draugr’s corpse. He grabbed it under the arms, only gagging a little, and dragged it back to the secret tunnel they just passed through hoping it would buy them some time.

The two men moved out of the kitchen and stalked down another long hallway. Jack was getting really sick and tired of long hallways. This one at least had windows, and as they made their way down its cobbled path, Jack glanced out to try to get a lay of the land.

They were on the first floor of a building that was surrounded by four large stone walls. Jack could see the shadows of activity atop the walls as draugr roamed back and forth on patrol. The center of the barracks was a large clearing surrounded by racks of weapons and training dummies, all worn from disuse.

Jack followed Onem up the stairs, pausing only briefly as the path went either left or right. Onem went left and Jack followed him, passing by several rooms that he noted were filled to the brim with draugr just... standing there. Something about these draugr looked different. Jack couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Maybe more muscular? Were these the elites he had been warned of? Jack wondered as they skulked past the rooms.

They rounded a corner and Onem put up a staying hand. Jack peered over Onem’s shoulder to see another long hallway that ended at a large wooden mahogany door flanked by two of the large draugr berserker.

“I’ll handle this-'' Jack started to say, only for Onem to disappear in a mess of shadows, erupting out of the ground in a deadly silence running a black spike through each of their heads. He lowered the bodies of the two draugr to the ground with the same silent stealth and motioned for Jack to follow along.

Jack was starting to wonder if his presence was even necessary for this mission. That was new.

“He should be just inside,” Onem said in a whisper so quiet Jack almost didn’t catch it. Jack nodded at the draugr and pulled out his daggers as Onem pushed open the door.

This part of the plan was pretty straightforward. While Authun was powerful, he wasn’t particularly sturdy. All Jack had to do was get in close and cast [Lightning Centipedes Bite] as many times as it took to kill Authun. It was just the right level of stupidly simple plan Jack prefered. Even Onem seemed convinced that should Jack get the jump on him, Authun would be unable to defend against the attack.

If they could kill Authun fast enough, then Onem could seize control of the draugr army and that, combined with the forces of the queen, would be a force capable of assaulting Gurthok castle.

Full of anticipation, Jack pushed into the room to find a tall draugr pacing back and forth.

Authun was a skinny draugr, his skin a pale blue compared to the gray papery skin of Onem. His black hair was cut in a bowl-cut fashion and wore a long white robe that trailed on the ground behind him. In his dead and deformed hand he held a jagged staff adorned with a white glowing crystal that radiated a cold energy. Jack noticed he had a small rod maybe twelve inches long tucked into his belt. Glowing runes ran along the rod’s handle, and it was affixed with a red orb that pulsated ominously. As he turned his robe hid it from view, tucking it further into the folds of the cloth.

“I told you no disturbances!” Authun said, not paying any attention to his two new guests.

“You seem stressed, Authun. Perhaps you need some rest?” Onem said, stepping out of the shadows and into the room, a smug look on his face.

Authun stopped his pacing and turned to look at Onem, his eyes lingering on Jack for an uncomfortably long time before he affixed Onem with a frosty gaze.

“I was wondering how long it would be before you betrayed your bro-“ Authun started to say, a sneer on his face.

Jack didn’t wait for the monologuing to start. He hated monologuing. Why did everyone want to monologue? It was always the same, lots of drivel and no action that always ended badly for the monologuer. Instead, he pushed off the ground in an explosive burst of speed, reaching Authun before the mage could even bring his staff up in defense.

Jack cast [Lightning Centipedes Bite].

Two enormous black fangs wreathed in lightning appeared superimposed over Jack’s arms as he tore through Authun, completely obliterating the draugr as his deadly pincers disintegrated the upper half of Authun’s body in one unstoppable blow.

Jack’s attack destroyed half the office in the process, ripping a giant mass out of the wall and exposing the room to the elements. Lightning bit at the air, shocking anything stupid enough to approach Jack. Two lonely and lifeless legs dropped to the ground.

You have Slain Authun Sorrowfrost

+5 Skill Points

+400,000AP

Jack grimaced in pain as his channels tore themselves apart, and the bones in his arms cracked. He immediately felt his channels start to burn and pull on the mana drops as they began their repair.

He reached into his void sack with a shaky hand to pull out a health potion, and cast a glance back at Onem, who was standing there, his face somewhere between annoyed and shocked. It took a few moments before he noticed Jack was staring at him.

“I know I devised this plan, but I am surprised it….worked…” He said trailing off.

Jack just nodded along with a knowing expression.

“You and me both. Shit usually hits the fan around this point. I’m honestly surprised one of us isn’t dead yet.” Jack said, understanding Onem’s surprise. “Hannah and I had a bet going it would be you, looks like we owe the queen twenty bucks and a bucket of chicken.”

Despite the clear victory, Jack had his reservations.It was more than a little odd that everything was going this smoothly. Normally this was the part where the real boss jumped out of the shadows and tried to kill Jack.

He squinted upwards at the Tower, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It always did.

Onem quickly started scouring the office, pulling things off shelves, rifling through disarrayed piles of papers, and ripping out the drawers of a desk that ran along a nearby wall.

“What are you doing?”

“The control rod.” Onem said. “It’s how he controls the draugrs.”

A memory tickled the back of Jack's brain.

“Wait. You can’t just cast a spell or something? Isn’t that what you did to your troops?”

“Yes. But a spell on the scale required to convert an entire army to my services takes time. I’m simply to escort the forces to the queen so she can convert them to the side of the redeemed.”

“What was the plan to take control of them in the meantime? You were being real cagey about that.”

“Authun preferred a more direct method of control. The spell that the queen and I are capable of casting provides more… freedom in the draugrs’ servitude. Authun used a controlling rod. It’s a savage but effective method that allows him to completely dominates the draugr minds.” Onem said, growing more frantic in his search.

Jack spared a passing thought for what Onem, the guy who enslaved his draugr and used sadistic mind control shackles must consider savage.

“Unless you know where it is, help me look. We don’t have much time.” Onem demanded.

“This control rod…” Jack started to ask innocently. “Is it white, about twelve inches long?”

“Yes.”

“Glowing runes carved up and down the handle?” Jack asked, remembering the small rod tucked into Authun’s belt.

“Yes!”

“Menacing red orb affixed to the top?” He asked looking down at the legs of Authun, which were all that remained of the draugr.

“Exactly! So You found it? ” Onem asked, a relieved look on his face.

“Nope. Haven’t seen it.” Jack lied, keeping his face straight while focusing his attention on a half empty drawer nearby.

Onem squinted at Jack and opened his mouth to say something, only to be cut off as bloodthirsty, discordant screams filled the night air.

An axe head ripped through the thick wooden door to Authun’s chambers.

“I think someone’s at the door for you.” Jack said, nodding towards the axe.

“You’ve doomed us both, you fool.”

“You never know, they could be selling girl scout cookies”