2.10 In Which the Dark Lord Tries Something He Saw in a Movie Once

2.10 In Which the Dark Lord Tries Something He Saw in a Movie Once

Is that an attack? I shifted my feet in preparation, but despite Biribos exhortation to move, I didnt yet take a step. This seemed like a bad situation in which to run around in confusion.

No, theres no offensive element, he said impatiently. The spells called Locate, its one of those that varies a lot based on the strength of the Blessing of Magic. Its got some neat perks at a higher strength, but it looks like all she can do is point at her target. Which is plenty to find us, unless we book it!

Hang on. Below and in the near distance, the seven sorcerers had started moving. In moments theyd pass into the shelter of the surrounding buildings. I focused through the spyglass and brought fort the press of magic in my mind.

Slimeshot.

The theory I was testing was proved correct. The spell itself handled targeting automatically, and I now learned it adjusted for factors like distance, which meant that the slime I launched flew at an upward trajectory, arcing into the night sky before descending straight at the group of magic users below. Specifically at the woman who was casting Locate. Id been afraid the range might be too great, but evidently not.

Seriously? Biribo exclaimed. You with the slimes!

Not ideal ammunition, sure, I agreed as I watched the airborne slime descend, and also not my fucking idea, Virya, but given how far that things falling it should hit like aaw, come on!

One of the other sorcerers, a young-looking man with no coat and his sleeves rolled up despite the cool evening, had dramatically thrown his hand forward and a barrier of light flashed into place over the whole group. It looked like a subtly dome-shaped panel of greenish honeycomb, made of linked hexagonal segments, one of which flickered as the slime arced out of the night to splatter against it hard enough to send droplets spraying in all directions. Honestly, I was impressed hed even managed to see that coming. Impressed, and annoyed.

Well, thats that, said Biribo, so lets

Hang on. The group had stopped running to huddle behind the shield, which gave me an idea.

Slimeshot Slimeshot Slimeshot Slimeshot Slimeshot Slimeshot Slimeshot Slimeshot SlimeshotSlimeshotSlimeshotSlimeshot

I began chain-casting, holding the spell in the forefront of my consciousness and pushing at it steadily as my eyes flicked across the group, targeting each in a split second of attention. Slimes machine-gunned out of thin air, hurtling through the night with devastating accuracy and hammering at the shield of green light.

I had the pleasure of seeing the shield caster buckle under the onslaught; I couldnt make out his expression between the distance, the intervening shield, and the residue of slimes rapidly accumulating on it, but he physically took a knee, clutching at the arm he was holding out as if it were physically keeping the spell up. Interesting, was that how it worked for some sorcerers? I used hand gestures, too, but mostly for dramatic effect; the actual effort was all mental.

He said something to his companions before the shield shattered, causing them all to break ranks and disperse into the cover provided by the nearby walls and roofs. The man casting the shield I almost managed to hit, but unfortunately he knew his limits well enough to be on the move before the barrier collapsed. He got splattered with slime residue but I failed to land a direct hit on a moving target from that range, unsurprisingly.

Well, I hope that was fun for you, said Biribo in an acerbic tone.

A bit, but it was also instructive. Now I have a general sense of how much punishment that shield can take, and a way to make them break formation and scatter. Time well spent!

If you say so, he replied doubtfully. But regardless

Yeah, lets get outta here. I was already turning around, and now set off on another series of bounds across the rooftop and the open alleyway beyond. Keep your attention on them and let me know if they draw closer, Ill disperse em again. All we need to do is get to the walls. Even if the gatehouse guards havent been told to let me through, I can persuade or bribe my way into the exterior fortification. Lady Grays thugs wont dare actually assault the walls, not when shes trying to do damage control.

Each gate, I had learned through examination when passing through and chitchat with the guards, had two gatehouses: a small exterior one used to impound people or property entering the city illicitly, and a larger interior barracks for the guards themselves. They werent connected internally, meaning that anyone besieging the city would have to actually bring down the gates; there was no conveniently penetrable side door. Still, there would be guards posted in the exterior gatehouse overnight, able to communicate with those above who controlled the doors in case of an emergency.

And all I had to do was get there. The wide arc Id taken to reposition myself for a good vantage over Grays ambush site had drawn me farther out from the walls themselves, and specifically even further from the southern gate, which was still the closest. That movement had made sense at the time, but now I had cause to regret it.

Almost immediately I had even more.

Shit, weve got problems, boss.

New problems, or are you just making conversation?

That group is gaining on us, boss. Fast! Never mind getting to the walls, theyll be on us within another minute at this rate!

What? Bullshit! How? Granted, hopping along the rooftops wouldnt be as quick as a straight run through the streets, but there were no straight runs through the Gutters except along the four major highway routes that quartered the city. It was a warren down there, and even having to hop over alleys and navigate sloping roofs, I had a more direct line to the gates than my pursuers. In fact, Id been expecting them to lose time when they stopped to climb up to my level.

Several of em are casting magic, theyre still far enough I cant tell details, but there are lots of spells that can influence a whole group. Probably party-wide stamina and speed buffs, boss. This is why fighting a whole group of sorcerers is a headache; once they start enhancing and supporting each other they can come up with some really creative shit.

Well, this wasnt going at all to plan. So, just another Tuesday on Dount.

Okay, I puffed, thinking rapidly. With all the running and jumping Id been doing recently, I was feeling the effects. Not that I was on the verge of collapse or anything, but I couldnt draw this out too much. Get me to a position where Ive got a vantage over an open area theyll have to pass through.

Got it! This way!

He pulled ahead of me, veering to the left, and I followed. Moving this way was liberating, despite the tense circumstances; the Surestep Boots meant I barely had to pay attention to where I put my feet. I practically glided over sloping shingled rooftops, intervening chimneys and gables, and vaulted across gaps between buildings as lightly as a cat. The only real barrier to my speed was my own flagging stamina. As long as I could figure out a way to end this before they caught up or my legs gave out

Up ahead, the roof with the blue shingles! You can see right down that street, boss; theyll be coming along it in seconds.

Good work!

I bounded across the last gap, one of the widest Id jumped yet, but I was also descending a story. Hitting the shingles in a roll, I let my momentum carry me in an angled slide, turning just as I reached the lip of the roof.

Just in time to see my pack of pursuers round a corner. They were moving crazy fast, so much so they looked blurred. Never mind the speed, it was incredible they could move like that around corners without losing their footing. Magic really was cheating.

And I was pretty good at cheating, myself.

This time I didnt play around; they were moving too quickly to be feasible targets, anyway.

Immolate, Immolate, Immolate!

That broke their formation, the three in the lead skidding along the pavement with their own momentum as they crumpled into screaming fireballs. Apparently one of those had been sustaining the speed effect, since they all slowed abruptly.

Then the paler one in the black coat cut in the local aristocratic style shouted something I couldnt make out from this range, and the flames around my three victims winked out, leaving them gasping on the ground.

What the hell?!

Oh, fuck, Biribo agreed.

How didnever mind!

Slimeshot! As luck would have it, the shield caster hadnt been one of those Id Immolated. He either saw it coming again or knew to expect it, and my incoming missile splattered against the wall of light. Picking him out visually by the dramatic gesture with which hed cast the spell, I tried again.

Immolate!

The shield winked out and he went down in a column of fire, which was snuffed a half-second later. The first three were already limping to their feet. Theyd suffered seconds rather than the minute or two the spell usually took, but being incinerated from the inside out was something nobody could just walk off immediately.

Details were vague from this distance, but they didnt even look burned, which pissed me off. If they had a spell to snuff out Immolate, shouldnt it leave them actually immolated in a state from before the healing magic kicked in? But nope, no visible effects save the trauma of horrific pain. Fucking bullshit, this game was rigged.

It was the guy in the black coat; he still had one hand outstretched. I zeroed in on him.

Windburst!

Thanks to what little mitigating fortune I had, I was at least flying head on, so I could see it coming and cast. My own spell impacted the shabby akorshil planks of the wall less than a second before I hit, reducing my velocity and also shaking some of them loose.

Because, as it turned out, this particular building was one of those half-ruined ones that were common in this part of the Gutters. I smashed through what remained of the second-story wall, and immediately discovered that the second story no longer had a floor. Fortunately my trajectory sent me plummeting into the gap beyond at a steep enough angle that I wasnt decapitated by the broken planks poking out from the edge of the hole; less fortunately, that sent me tumbling down to smash into a pile of I dont know what it was a pile of, but it broke with a loud clatter and wasnt what Id call cushiony.

So that was what being on the other end of a Windburst felt like. Yeah, I did not care for that.

Boss! Boss, you gotta get up! We have to move!

I blinked. Everything was hazy Shock, I realized, my senses coming slowly back into focus. Then pain.

Heal! I cast the magic before I could begin making sense of exactly what was broken. There came a few more sharp stabs of pain as several bones were wrenched back into their proper place, but then I was once more in one piece and relatively alert. Still pretty tired from all this running, but apparently Heal did remedy the symptoms of shock.

That was good to know. This probably wouldnt be the last time I was in a position to appreciate it. Maybe not even tonight.

I rolled to my feet and spun in a circle, getting my bearings.

Fire Lance! somebody shouted, and the wall in front of me shuddered, hot orange sparks flashing through the gaps in its dilapidated akorshil boards.

Ah, so that was the direction from which Id come. I turned and bolted in the opposite direction, down a hallway. There was a second shout of Fire Lance! from behind me, followed by a much louder crash as apparently they managed to burst through the wall entirely.

Oh, sure, the random-ass bandit got an awesome fire-throwing spell. What did I get? Slimes.

I hated this planet.

Crawns fled as I stomped into what used to be a kitchen, currently full of skittering and the stench of decay. Like many Dountol kitchens, this one had an exterior door, which I burst through. I didnt have time to throw off pursuit by closing it, but that didnt really matter; theyd figure out where Id gone immediately, and also the whole thing flew off its hinges when my shoulder hit it.

I was on a narrow stretch of sidewalk fronting one of the canals. The sound of rapidly flowing water was almost as overpowering as the stink of it. Most of the canals flowed fairly gently, but the bigger ones had a significant current, carrying away all the refuse people dumped in them in lieu of an actual sewer system. No wonder this area was abandoned; I wouldnt want to live next to this, either.

There was a bridge arcing over the canal just a few meters to my right, offering a tempting path out of this box. Too tempting? I could try to bolt to the sides to throw off pursuit, but Id be terribly exposed either way.

Biribo?

Theyre closing in, boss! Its clear on the other side!

That decided it. Already hearing multiple bodies crashing through the abandoned house behind me, I sprinted for the bridge, turning onto it in seconds.

As soon as I crested the apex of its arch, a figure popped into existence right at its other end, blocking my path. And aiming a crossbow at me.

Even in the dimness, I could see the glint of Lady Grays teeth as I closed in on her. Grinning, or snarling? Didnt matter. Not even slowing, I raised my hand as the bolt whipped right at my face.

It grazed my temple and nicked my ear. She was undoubtedly too good with that thing to miss such a shot from this close. Bless this artifact amulet.

Windburst! She tried to dodge aside, but the spell sent her tumbling.

Null!

Fuck. I spun, turning to aim a Slimeshot back the way Id come.

Nothing happened. Of course.

Shed be back on her feet in seconds. I couldnt afford to hesitate, and even without spells I wasnt helpless. Drawing my rapier, I pivoted and charged back at the caster.

I could see him, that middle-born guy in the nice coat, holding out his hand and grimacing in concentration as he maintained the counterspell on me.

I could also see his reinforcements. They werent coming through the house, but down the walkway along the canal: two of his sorcerer buddies and what looked like a whole squad of crossbow-wielding thugs.

Windburst! shouted the woman in the scarf who could cast Locate, aiming at me. She was too far away still for the spell to hit me with its full impact, but that did mean she was far enough behind the guy casting Null for it to activate. And once cast, it wasnt magic that hit me, but just wind.

Distant as it was, I was sent careening backward, pinwheeling my arms and barely managing not to lose my footing thanks to my artifact boots. My retreat was halted by the painful impact of the bridges railing against my lower back.

I half-turned to chance a peek at the waters below. Was this an escape route?

Nope, I decided. Aside from smelling like shit and decay, it was a drop of a good four meters into actual rapids. This part of the Gutters was so decrepit and Gwylltheans government so inept that the canal had been allowed to be full of all manner of trash. Broken boats, wagons, and who knew what else half-clogged it, forcing the rushing water into a violent torrent as it had to course through the narrow path left through the obstructions.

Nobody could swim in that. Id probably bash my brains out on the first chunk of debris, and even if not Casting Heal while actively drowning just sounded like a creative way to waterboard myself.

Well, Seiji, Lady Gray drawled, this sure has been fun.

Fuck. Could I get past her? With the rapier I was as good a combatant as a person could be

She was staring at me with a manic expression that didnt bode well. One hand was on her sheathed invisibility dagger; the other held a murderous-looking scimitar, which I didnt doubt she knew how to use. Looking into her eyes, I could tell she knew. She knew how my schemes had undone her. Killing me was likely to be her last act as the fearsome crime lord of Gwyllthean. I was facing a cornered animal.

And, naturally, pushing past her was my least terrible option.

I now had three spellcasters and at least twenty crossbowmen aiming at me, a second squad having arrived on the rooftop. Without my magic, there was no way of punching through that. And I already knew my Rapier of Mastery meant at best a stalemate against Lady Gray. In this situation, a stalemate would last just seconds until the rest of them hit me from behind.

The rock and the hard place.

EVERYBODY FREEZE! I bellowed, raising the sword to press its edge against my own throat. Nobody moves, or the foreigner gets it!

Absolute stillness descended as everyone gaped at me.

boss? Biribo asked hesitantly.

Look, I dont know. It wasnt even a conscious decision, certainly not any kind of plan. Theres no accounting for what springs to the forefront of a persons brain when its running on pure adrenaline and has zero good options.

Weapons down! I swear Ill do it! I shouted. Drop em or Ill gut this bastard right now!

The silence of pure incredulity continued to reign, and I found myself suddenly appreciating the phrase just stupid enough to work. For one blessed moment, sheer disbelief and confusion held everyone still, and I felt an unwise glimmer of hope that just maybe I could parlay this brief distraction into a way out of this mess.

What in the f Lady Gray cut herself off, turning her wide-eyed stare of perplexed fury from me to all her lackeys, who were currently just standing there in uncertainty. Why is no one shooting him?!

So they all shot me.