Dread Night (1)

--Gatix--

“Agent! Agent, wake up!”

“Hngh...”

“Gatix!”

“I'm up...” Nev's yelling was a new experience. “What's going on?”

“You are partially buried under a mass of tendrils.”

“That explains why I can't see anything. How do I get out?”

“The grip enhancement in your right hand should be of use.”

“Activate it.” I felt a wave of heat flush through my hand when Nev did as I asked. It took a couple seconds to break through the tendrils: movement isn't easy when everything above your elbow is immobile. “I'm out. Now tell me what happened?”

“The alchemist surprised you with a cauldron to the head.”

“I remember that.”

“After you were knocked out, the alchemist moved you outside and tried to pierce your armor with more tendrils.”

“That explains the dents over my armor. Remind me to thank Dax for the upgrades. What happened next?”

“The noise he made risked drawing attention, so he changed tactics to bury you. I knew you'd break free, so I did not attack him with your electro glove.”

“Smart thinking. Thanks, buddy.” Broken tendrils crumbled to the ground as I stood up. Nev forgot to mention a significant amount of time had passed. The night had returned but no white lights were illuminating the surroundings. Only the suit's built-in night vision prevented me from the mercy of sneak attacks.

“Nev, something's wrong here.”

“I agree. I am not detecting many skin-walker signatures in the town.”

“Not a good sign.” I unclipped Scythe and set it to short-range mode. I did wonder why my trusty weapon had not been taken, but the most likely answer was the most simple one: the alchemist didn't know what Scythe could do. He did take the bag the parasol lady had given me. “Can you pick up the alchemist?”

“He is walking in town with signatures I do not recognize. I am also detecting the trisortium: I think the alchemist returned the container to his lair. Its retrieval shouldn't be too hard.”

“Let's go get it.” The alchemist's lair was closest, so I opted for that first. I kept Scythe at the ready as I descended the stairs, but only the messy room of before awaited me. I found the bag thrown in a corner, and inspecting it revealed the trisortium still inside.

“That's one down.” I wrapped it over my shoulders and gave the room once over, seeing if there was anything else of use and wondering whether I should kick over a desk. Opting against it, I left the room with a disapproving growl. “Nev, I'm guessing you don't have a lock on the old man?”

“Unfortunately not.”

“Then give me the shortest route to his house.” An indicator appeared inside my visor as I set off. The uneasiness I felt worsened with every step I took closer to the marketplace. Not a single soul revealed itself along the way. “Nev, see anything?”

“No. The alchemist is in the marketplace, along with several unknown signatures.”

“Moving.” I quickened my pace, ensuring I was ready to fire Scythe at any time.

“Agent, a signature is coming around the cor-”

“Oh, shit!” The shock of seeing the figure made me pull the trigger by instinct, which sent it crashing onto its side.

“Is that?” The figure lying by my feet resembled my armor in more ways than one: the same style of armor plates with a very similar helmet. Other than Scythe, the main difference was six spikes extending from the figure's back and the more aggressive design of its pauldrons.

“Unlikely, considering everybody says they're extinct.”

“Sure does look like it could be a dread knight.”

“While the description would fit, its ferocity does not match the tales we've heard.”

You're right... I missed it on the first look, but a vague black mist enveloped the figure. A pity Ms. Queen wasn't here to confirm, but leaning on my knowledge from literature, I'd wager this creature was summoned.

An inhuman screech tore my focus to my left, where I found the live version staring at me. Seemingly unhappy with my existence, the fake knight unsheathed a rusty sword and charged forward. Not the wisest decision as I had range, and the pull of Scythe's trigger blew it apart. Unfortunately, Scythe spewing lead wasn't quiet, and more than a dozen screeches rose throughout the night.

“At least they die when you shoot them.” I set forth, more screeches mixing with the storm's howling winds. “Nev, overlay the enemy tracker in my visor. Make the alchemist yellow.”

The visor flickered as several blue clouds formed around me. “Closest enemy is ten meters from you.”

“Appreciated.” I charged forth, keeping an eye on the blue clouds as I ran through the corridors. The fake knights tried to jump me twice more, but a conversation with Scythe convinced them of their folly. My anxiety never left. While the fake knights died easier than the skeletons of before, they were a lot more agile, and I was weary of their swords.

“Agent, you are nearing the alchemist.” The prominence of the yellow cloud proved his points. “I am detecting an increase ene-”

“Wh-” I crashed to the ground when my right foot suddenly stopped moving. My instinct was to figure out the origin of the problem but a screech drew my attention to the rooftop. On it a knight jumped toward me with its sword in hand. It would have been a trivial problem if something didn't crash against my hand, the force strong enough to knock Scythe loose and send it clattering on the ground.

“Shit!” Two swords struck the middle of my chest, the blades bouncing off after leaving a hole behind. Seeing them ready for another attack, I grasped hold of Fang and started blasting. I didn't hear any bullets striking metal, much to my shame, but it brought me a moment when the figures stepped backward.

“Come on!” I yanked on my foot but it refused to budge, so I fired two more shots, finally striking one of the fake knights in the shoulder. The small gap allowed a glance at my afflicted limb: several tendrils had grown around it.

“Incoming...”

A figure struck at me with a screech, but a raised gauntlet deflected the attack, at the cost of inserting a groove.

“Thanks.” I pushed against the sword before aiming Fang and squeezing the trigger, landing a shot against the fake knight's helmet and sending it falling. I would have aimed for the next target if something didn't crash against my back. It pinned me to the ground.

“Activating electro-glove,” but nothing happened, except for a couple more screeches and a sword slamming into me.

“Right glove!”

“Activated.” I twisted my shoulder before Nev finished speaking, my elbow connecting with whatever was pinning me. With my flexibility improved, I clenched my fist around the foot of a fake knight standing ahead of me and pulled. The knight fell with a most satisfying thunk, whereupon I pressed the pistol against its head and squeezed the trigger twice. A screech brought the previous figure back to my attention, but that problem was solved with two bullets to the chest and one to the head.

“Agent, I detect more enemies incoming.”

“I know.” A punch cracked the tendrils and finally freed my foot. I practically jumped to my feet, scooping Scythe up in the process. “Set Scythe to quarter power. I'm not in the mood for this.”

“Set. You have twelve shots.”

Four fake knights came running around the corner, swords drawn to meet my acquaintance.

BANG.

The shot vaporized the knights and tore a hole through the building behind them.

“Behind you.”

BANG.

Three additional figures disappeared in black mist. I felt more tendrils forming around my legs, but they served to stabilize me as I adjusted my aim.

BANG.

Five knights from a third corridor disappeared.

BANG.

Three from the first.

BANG.

Four behind them.

BANG.

Two from the rooftops.

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

“Any more?” I kept my eye behind the scope, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

“Not in the imminent vicinity.”

“Then I guess it's time for the big one.”