22,000 Lives on the Line: the Horde Spawn

The party stuck close together while Den eased open the door to the back porch. The security light flickered but the dim illumination was enough to see a skeleton riding a guinea pig slowly stalking left and right. For whatever reason, it seemed content to be boxed in within the fence and didn’t venture over the foot high wire protecting the garden that took up a majority of the wide back lot.

Den clicked his tongue as he saw that the skeleton was holding a club. “Why is a boss monster spawning here? I only saw vermin out on the street.”

“Horde Spawns usually spawn monsters close to the level of the nearby players,” Grengalheim whispered.

“So this is our fault for being strong,” Rika said with a proud grin.

“That’s not a good thing right now!” Den hissed. He let out a breath. “We’ll just have to make do with what we have.”

Chloe raised the kitchen knife she had procured. “Chloe will stab the pig until it breathes its last.”

“That’s great, Chloe, but what about the skeleton? We only have one hammer,” Sam said, setting the hammer Den had supplied from the garage against their shoulder. “That’s even worse than our normal disadvantage against the undead. We don’t even have rocks to smash with.” They lifted up a pillowcase they held in their left hand. “I really don’t know about this plan, Den.”

“It’s less than ideal,” Grengalheim said with a tight grin, rolling his grip on a metal fire poker. “But since when is that anything new for us?”

“Let me at him!” Rika hissed from the back of the group. “No more questions!”

“Just remember the most important part of this battle--” Den paused, looking at the faces of his party members, “We can’t let the fighting reach GrandPre’s garden. She’ll kill us.”

“We know,” Rika said with a roll of her eyes.

“Alright,” Den said, gripping his crutch with one hand and the screen-door handle with the other. “We go in three… two… one…!” He threw his weight against the door, flying forward and following the swing until the door met its extent and cracked to a stop. The guinea pig squeaked in surprise and the mounted skeleton swung towards them as Rika burst forth screaming. She made her way barefoot across the back porch in two massive leaps before landing in a roll and coming up to stab the fluffy mount with her short Pointy Stick of Destruction.

The skeleton on its back screeched and brandished its weapon. A rock slammed against its face, startling it, giving Rika a moment to pull out and jump back. Chloe stowed a handful of flowerpot stones in her center pocket then ran forward with her knife while Grengalheim came at the monster from the other side. Chloe stabbed the guinea pig while Grengalheim defended her by deflecting the monster’s stick with his fire poker. Sam ran in and swung the hammer up to deliver a blow to the bottom jaw.

Even under attack, the skeleton barely lost any speed, reacting with a swing of its fist. Grengalheim struck its elbow, knocking the arm free. It fell for a moment before green magic captured it, drawing it back in. Sam took the opportunity to sweep in with the pillowcase to capture the floating arm, slam it against the earth, and smash it with the hammer.

Leaving his teammates to battle, Den ran as fast as his aching leg and crutch would let him. He made his way across the wet lawn and between two chicken-wired gardens to the shed in the back. As his friends kept the monster at bay, he fumbled the keys to the lock then swung the doors open. He threw away lawn tools in the flickering light to get at a rusty sledge axe. Now we mean business.

Turning round, he found the monster had its back to him. It screeched and swung its stick, knocking back all three of his friends. He wouldn’t let their distraction be for naught. He found the balance of the heavy sledge axe in hand and tightened his grip. He lurched forward, swinging the axe overhead. As the monster raised its own weapon, Den threw himself into the air with his crutch, letting out a scream only at the last moment as he brought down the club on the back of the monster’s head.

The monster let out a startled yelp as the force of Den strike sent it sprawling to the earth. Den reared back again as the skull turned to look at him. He brought his weapon down again, but with only one hand on the heavy tool, it only managed to keep the monster pinned. Grengalheim yelled as he threw a flying tackle, pushing the monster against the ground again as it attempted to rise. Sam collapsed on the monster’s lower half, capturing its legs in the pillowcase then swung their hammer down wildly. Chloe and Rika screeched as they viciously stabbed the mount.

The two monsters fought back as best they could, but after being separated, they were no match for the party’s ceaseless attacks. The guinea pig gave a final squeak before bursting while Grengalheim rose to his feet. He pulled the sledge axe from Den’s hand and drew it up overhead. The skeleton screeched as he brought it down on its skull with a crunch. Both monsters burst into smoke, leaving a single shard of Essence Ore in the grass. Everyone heaving, no one said anything for a half a minute before Rika managed a “I hate skeletons!”

Grengalheim tossed the fire poker down at Den. He hefted the sledge up to his shoulder. “I’m keeping this.”

With the crutch in one hand and the fire poker in the other, Den decided it wasn’t all too different from his normal setup. With that settled, Den looked over to the near garden. The grass was torn up, but they had somehow managed to keep the vegetables safe. “Oh, thank god.”

Chloe pointed to the other patch. “It isn’t done yet.”

In the back corner, a giant guinea pig dug into the lettuce plants.

“Oh, come on!” Den said. “Now this is personal.”

They made quick work of the guinea pig and cut down a Giant Rat and a slime before they made it out to the front yard. Already breathing hard, the sight of a dozen more Giant Rats and slimes and even another mounted-skeleton out in front of the house set his heart pounding. “GrandPre was heading downtown. I hope everyone else is ready for a long fight.”

The small fry monsters broke easily under their coordinated attacks as they made their way toward the downtown. A number of other men and women from the neighborhood joined in using everything from brooms to bricks as their weapons. Still, Den was only too well aware of how slow their progression was. He was thankful the streets were clearing by the time they made it downtown. He couldn’t say that he was super close with GrandPre, but seriously, if anything happened to her now that they were finally starting to get a little closer he’d be pissed.

Bringing his pokerstick down on a giant beaver’s head and sending it up in smoke, Den looked up from a squat at his friends. No one had said anything in a long time. How long had they been charging? Ten minutes? Twenty? The crew behind them of nearly thirty others now made their fight considerably easier as they were able to leave the weakest monsters for them. By the time they’d brought down at Den’s count nearly twenty skeletons in their run, his lungs screamed for rest. “Is everyone okay?” he called.

“Making do,” Chloe said, holding the hammer after switching weapons with Sam.

“Missing my Roll Blast,” Sam said, fixing their grip on the kitchen knife.

“This is much easier than budgeting,” Rika said, her teeth gritted. “I could do this forever.”

“But let’s hope we don’t have to,” Grengalheim said.

A number of shouts drew their attention ahead to the rising buildings of downtown. “That’s close to the community center. GrandPre’s class is there.” He pushed himself to his feet.

They pressed on up the curved street until the downtown plaza unfolded before them. A massive roar sent a tremor through the earth. Den’s step faltered. Beyond a thin crowd of onlookers, lit by tall street lights, a two-story-tall monster of stone paving bricks slowly plodded toward the community center.

“Damn,” Rika said, coming to a stop next to Den. “We haven’t seen one of those yet.”

“I haven’t even seen one,” Grengalheim said. “That’s a golem. It’s got to be from the Third Stratum.”

“Who invited that monster to the party?” Sam asked.

Chloe pointed across the plaza. Defending the tall glass building, the Guildmaster stood with one raised hand, his bracelet Enchanted Item glowing green. His other hand gripped a fist-sized necklace pendant of cut red Essence Ore. With an airy shout, he threw a punch and sent a large green psychic fist crashing into the monster, sending it tumbling back to the ground. Bricks rained down with a clatter and Den glimpsed a pulsing red shard of Essence Ore in the monster’s chest. Almost as soon as he spotted it however, the monster drew back together, pulling in its scattered paving stones and preparing to rise.

“This is my gamer sense saying we’re going to need to bust that core thingy,” Den said.

“With what?” Grengalheim said, his expression severe. “Our weapons are nothing but toothpicks against a monster like that.”

“We’ve faced worse,” Rika said, throwing a punch.

“We literally haven’t,” Sam said. “But maybe if we had my Roll Blast…”

“It wouldn’t make a difference,” Grengalheim said. “Our levels are too low.”

“Chloe wishes to consult the expert.” Chloe set off around the crowd for the Guildmaster. Den followed, the others just behind. Den’s stomach twisted, and he kept his peripherals on the monster as they passed. Each of its short, untiring steps sent a tremor through the plaza. This was nothing like what they had faced in the last two weeks. It terrified him. It didn’t feel like a monster-- it felt like a tornado. Impossible to fight. The very thought seemed suicidal.

“Hey old man. Need a hand?” Rika asked, the first to join the Guildmaster.

The white haired man glanced at them as they all arrived, his face twisted in focus. “This is no place for new adventurers.” The golem swung an arm of paving stones, and the old man held up a hand, the green crystaled bracelet on his wrist flashing. A semi-transparent barrier rose just in time to block the oncoming stones. The old man grunted and gripped the large chunk of shimmering red Essence Ore hanging at his neck. The light inside the shimmering stone flickered once. “I don’t have much time,” he wheezed.

“Want us to take over?” Rika asked, holding out her hands. “I’ll use the Enchanted Item if you want a break.”

Grengalheim threw out a hand to block her. “Enchanted Items are only as strong as their user.” He looked at the Guildmaster. “What level are you?”

“Fifty-four,” the man wheezed and changed his grip on the Essence Ore. “We need to get everyone out of here. I only have maybe another five minutes left until I use up all the magic left in this B Grade Ore.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Den asked. He glanced up at the monster as stones spun in the air around its center mound. It continued to plod closer on its pillar-like legs. Den trembled. The Guildmaster was surely its target, but having that thing come straight at them, his mind went white. “Not that I can think of anything.”

The old man gritted his teeth. “You five aren’t even level ten yet.”

“Where’s Shockwave or one of the other Suburb 23 parties?” Sam asked, running a hand back through their hair, squinting at the monster.

“The other guild members are all defending the workers out in the field…” the old man said. The EEC must be having just as hard of a time outside.

“What does it take to bring this thing down?” Rika asked.

“Golem have high attack and defence but low magic and health. If we can drill a hole with magic to its core, we can defeat it. What Enchanted Items do you have?”

“We have a stick, a few hammers, a knife, and a pry-bar,” Den said, thinking rapidly about what they had on their persons and what he had thought to throw in his backpack.

The old man laughed, tears in his eyes. “That’s not good.”

The earth shook with each step the hulking force of nature took. Every once in a while a floating paving stone would fly in at the Guildmaster, but he would knock the stone to the earth with magic.

“Please tell me this is as simple as landing some good blows on its core,” Den asked.

The old man pushed up his monocles. “It won’t take much, but my Enchanted Item isn’t offensive. I have no way to break through its defenses and do damage.”

Even Rika had grown serious. “That thing is after you. Should we evacuate everyone?”

“There’s no time. The Community Center is full. If I die, the golem will go after everyone inside,” the Guildmaster said. “We just have to pray that backup will come.”

But the Guildmaster’s face was grim. It didn’t seem that he believed it would. Den’s mind grew fuzzy as he imagined what this storm of swirling stone would do if the Guildmaster fell. It would lay waste to the city. It would slam into the glass building behind them and everyone inside, GrandPre included... The others had started to talk about how they would help evacuate as many people as possible, but Den found their voices distant as he stared at the monster.

He knew how weak they were, but the thought of their downtown-- the Community Center, their convenience store, everything-- being destroyed, lit a fire in his chest. In only two weeks he had made this place his own more than any place in Starter Town. The Guildmaster threw another punch and knocked the monster back off its feet, the stones making up its body monetarily losing their magical glow and falling apart, revealing the center Essence Ore. That must be worth a fortune… His heart skipped a beat. “We will destroy it,” Den said, surprised the words could leave his lips so simply.

The conversation of the other four members of his party fizzled as they turned to look at him with horrified looks.

“Do you have a death wish?” Grengalheim asked.

Maybe he did. He’d had many dark days before coming here, and his actions since arriving in the suburb were not those of someone in control, but right now, the tremble had left his legs. “If we let that thing take down the Guildmaster, a lot of people are going to die,” he said. “This is our place, are you going to just let it get destroyed?”

“If we go in there, we’ll die,” Grengalheim said.

“Maybe we will,” Den said, throwing up his hands in frustration, the fire in him growing as the monster pulled itself back together. “But maybe we’ll win.”

“It’s not even your home,” Grengalheim said. “If we leave, we fight another day!”

“Do we?” Den spat. “With how things are, I doubt it. If we can get that Essence Ore drop--”

“This is about the money?” Grengalheim threw his hands in the air.

“Yes it’s about the money!” Den said. “Yes, it’s the adventurer thing to do to stand our ground and help these people, and yes I want to protect this place I actually give a shit about, but I want that Essence Ore so we can make this party last! I’ll give everything for that.”

Rika reached forward and took his arm. “Den…” she said softly. “Don’t do this because of me.”

He drew up with a deep breath. “Rika, you were in the right place at the right time to save me. Now I’m in the right place at the right time to save what you’ve built with us. God, I’ll make what we have work! I won’t waste this chance!”

Her eyes grew serious. “What’s the plan, Den? What do we have?”

Rika was with him. That bolstered his heart. “We have our weapons. We just have to break that core,” he said.

“How are we going to get through that tornado of bricks?” Sam asked, face still stretched tight. “I don’t like the idea of getting rained on by those.”

The Guildmaster deflected another of the heavy paving blocks.

“It’s only attacking the Guildmaster,” Den said. “We must be too low level for it to care.” As much as that theory might let them get in close, it still hurt Den’s pride.

“Chloe worries about her head if the monster does attack” Chloe said, giving him a serious stare.

Den glanced around until his eyes settled on the bicycle lot next to the Community Center entrance. “We’ll need some armor.” He then pointed at the monster. “The Guildmaster knocks it over, we climb up, get under that shield stone then give it a whack. Easy.

“This is crazy,” Grengalheim said, face slack.

“Yes, but I am willing to try if it keeps us together,” Den said.

“I believe in us,” Rika agreed, pumping a fist.

Chloe stepped up to Grengalheim, closed his free hand on her hammer then took the sledge axe from him. “Chloe is ready to smash brains!” she said, hefting the sledge overhead with ease.

“We’re going to become legends!” Sam shouted with a hoot and roll of crazed laughter.

Grengalheim glanced between them a moment longer before letting out a breath. He lifted his head high. “If we die, you better hope our names end up in history books!”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Den pleaded, handing off his pry bar to the man.

They ran to the bicycle lot. Den slid to a stop at the first bike, took a round granny helmet out of the backet, and strapped it on. Grengalheim raided a motorcycle and pulled on a slick helmet. He raised the visor and nodded at Den. Chloe ran up next and took the only remaining motorcycle helmet.

Rika came up behind her. “Can I have the cool helmet?”

“No,” Chloe said definitively.

Sam clapped Rika on the shoulder and handed her a kid helmet with a unicorn on it. “Just your size.”

Properly armored, they turned to the hulking behemoth of stone. Den raised a hand over his head. “Give us an opening, Guildmaster!”

The man gave a roar and pressed the monster back with a green barrier. It fell with a cacophony of stone on stone. Den gave a wild cry and ran forward, his friends running with him. The hair on his arms rose as they moved into the Golem’s glowing aura. It gave no indication it cared. We can do this! Thank god it doesn’t care about us small fries!

The monster’s flickering aura rolled out from the red core crystal and its body started to reassemble. They arrived at its feet and wildly threw themselves on it. The mass of paving stones made surprisingly doable hand and footholds and they climbed their way up to the torso just in time for the monster to return to its march. Den kept his eyes pinned on the red glow shining out from under a flat paving stone at the top of its torso. Scared every second they would be jarred loose, Den did his best to climb, but was still the last to arrive at the glowing shield-stone.

Den’s legs trembled as he held onto the rocky body. Rika jabbed her Pointy Stick, pulling down on the handle and making a two inch opening. “Give me a hand!”

Sam jammed their fire-poker into the gap and Grengalheim did the same with the pry bar. With a massive grunt, they managed to wrench the stone up. The red heart of the monster-- pulsed gently and gave off a hot electric charge. Chloe squeezed in between Grengalheim and Sam and lifted the sledge-axe with one hand.

“Ei!” she shouted and brought the weapon down on the glassy sphere with shocking force. A very shallow crack ran out from the point of impact. Den doubted anyone but Chloe would have been able to manage that with one hand.

A quake ran through the monster and Den lost his grip, falling several feet before somehow managing to grab back on. Their weapons fell away as the monster shifted the shield stone, but Grengalheim said, “Oh no you don’t!” and shoved himself in the way. The crack they’d made on the core was just barely visible through a small opening.

“There’s no room to hit!” Sam said.

Den crawled his way up to the group as they attempted to pry back the stone with their hands. Den raised his screwdriver to Rika. Her face lit up. She brought the point to the crack they’d made. “Lay it on, Chloe!”

Chloe turned the weapon around to the sledge side. She brought the hammer down and a loud crack sounded as the screwdriver dug in, hot red light shining from the opening in the core. The golem roared and paused its forward momentum. Suddenly, all the stones floating around the monster started to fly in at them. They had to grip with both hands as the bricks pounded painfully against their backs.

“I think it noticed us!” Sam yelled.

There was no way for Chloe to land the final attack while under fire. “Rika, Sam, hold Chloe in place and brace yourselves!” he shouted. Grengalheim grunted as the monster attempted to close the stone on top of him. The other two hugged close to Chloe, shoving their arms deep into gaps between stones. Now Chloe could hold the axe with both hands. Still, she could not raise her arms with the stones crashing against her.

“I’m coming!” Den reached around Sam and Rika and slowly shimmied his way up over them. The volley of stone knocked the breath from his lungs, but he needed to take Chloe’s fire. At last he covered Chloe completely with his body. He had never been thankful before for his weight, but now it was his shield.

A stone slammed hard against Den’s helmet, knocking his head against the body of the golem. Head spinning and body quickly coming to tremble from the bombardment, he knew he wouldn’t last.

“Good Den!” Chloe said as she raised the sledge up by his shoulder, just over the back of the screwdriver. “Die stupid rock!” She brought the hammer down. With a crackling like an eggshell, the shaft drove deep into the core, breaking it in half.

The golem gave a final long roar before the hot aura pouring off the core fizzled as it shattered apart. The stones in the air grew cold as life left the golem. People all around the plaza cheered as the final echoes of the golem went quiet. It was dead-- nothing but a pile of stone once more.

Letting out a wheezing laugh, Den let his head fall limp against the rocks. “Well that was close.”

“I am definitely going to be sick,” Grengalheim murmured.

“If you do, Chloe is pushing you off,” Chloe said.

“How are we getting down from here?” Sam asked.

Rika stuck her head out from under Den, gasping for air. “Well, that could have been worse.”

A crackling boom sounded and out of the corner of his eye, Den glimpsed the last of the Guildmaster’s Essence Ore burst. The green light of his Enchanted Item that held their tower of rubble in place flickered out. The tower they clung to gave a great shiver as the last hovering paving stones fell to the earth. All at once, their pile crumbled under them, pulling them down screaming in a landslide.

Battered, bruised, and twitching-- not at all like heroes-- they were fished out of the pile of rubble. Embarrassing as that landing was, Den could only cry tears of joy.

We survived.