I wanted to return the favor and give her the same comfort she had given me. Instead, I stared dumbfounded.
Just moments ago I had been concerned about what, mob drops? The pain these players had just experienced made playing a game sound worthless.
Victoria’s head fell against Peter’s chest. She gripped his armor at the collar and sleeve. Her full-lunged sobs became the only noise in the immediate vicinity.
“You okay?” Kline whispered at my side.
“No,” I answered.
“Me neither.”
Looking to him, I saw a cold, hard glare. He was looking from body to body, not even letting himself blink. The veins in his temple throbbed.
“There!” Oliver called. He pointed west, the opposite end of the city from the front gate, where twenty or more goblin warriors were marching our way.
“Lucius.”
I found Peter’s hand on my shoulder. When had he approached me?
“Please take Victoria and get to the front gate. It looks safe that way, but be careful. Warn everyone. Send help as soon as you can.”
At first, I didn’t respond. The bodies started to become translucent then disappeared in the order they had died.
Everything in me wanted to charge headlong into the monsters and violate them with spear and blade. Death was too good for them. It was also an almost sure defeat if I stayed with Peter, Oliver, and Kline, but I was sure every goblin would regret waking up this morning.
He nudged me.
“Okay.”
Inventorying my spear, I checked my sword at my side. Grabbing Victoria’s hand, I moved to leave, but she yanked her hand from mine. There were no words. The muscles of her neck flexed, then relaxed and flexed again. Tears had already soaked her face. If her bloodshot eyes could have cast a spell, the fires of hell would have risen up and devoured the goblins heading our way.
Could I throw myself into a hopeless battle to satisfy my indignation? Yes. But I could not allow her to do the same.
She tried to step around me but I stopped her. Grabbing her shoulders with both of my hands, I brought my forehead to hers, forcing her to acknowledge me.
“What?!” she screamed.
“We have people to save.”
The tension went out of her shoulders like a deflated sail. Her eyes clenched shut.
I waited for her to nod before grabbing her hand. We ran in the opposite direction of the coming battle.
Looking back I saw Kline roll his shoulders while equipping his spear and taking his place at Oliver’s side. The three men stormed toward the coming invasion like a chainsaw to a pumpkin patch. A chill went up my neck and down again. Survive, guys. Help is coming soon.
We were nearly a mile from the front gate so we began at a fast pace. After two hundred meters up a slight incline to a more elevated part of the city, we came to a sudden halt.
What was responsible for bloodying the street with player bodies was dangerously close. Not one, but two hobgoblins strolled toward the front gate with a mob of goblin warriors surrounding them.
Grabbing Victoria’s hand, I fled down a side street and took the alley where we could weave behind the rear buildings. It headed parallel to the main road and hopefully right past the hobgoblins.
“Did you see that?” I asked, recognizing the now familiar itch in the middle of my back.
“Yes. What do we do?”
“Run as fast as we can and try to get around them. We have to beat them to the gate and warn everyone.”
Victoria inventoried her shield and spear. I did the same, but drew my sword, holding it in an overhand grip, the blade running down along my forearm.
If they kept to their slow pace, this just might work. We didn’t just need to make it past them, but to get far enough ahead that we could safely warn everyone.
Any doubt I had of Victoria’s physical ability was squashed below our frantic feet. The pace I set was more than a jog, but not quite a sprint. We neared their position quickly, as my heart pounded against my chest and not because of exertion.
Gritting my teeth, I saw we were about to cross a large side street. It would be close. There was the danger that we would be easily spotted by any goblins looking our way. There were only two options. Slow down, or go faster.
“Can we speed up?” I asked.
“I was wondering why you were going so slow. Don’t hold back on my account.”
I didn’t know if I should take her dark humor as a good or bad sign of how she was doing.
As we shot out from the alley into the open dirt road, I cranked it up to full stride and was happy to see Victoria sticking with me.
Glancing up the side street, the goblins hadn’t reached us yet. We had already passed them.
Skidding to a halt, Victoria passed me but slowed when she noticed.
“Keep going,” I said. “I’ll be right behind you.”
“Lucius, no.”
“Trust me. They won’t be able to catch me. Besides, I bet I’ll still beat you to the front gate.”
Her mouth opened to say something, then closed. Finally, she said. “You’re on. Promise me you won’t do anything stupid again.”
“Only if you promise me the same.”
She shook her head, the side of her mouth twitching into a grin, then she turned and continued down the back road toward the gate.
Sheathing my sword, I bent down finding a roundish rock that was about the size of the palm of my hand. Stepping behind the corner of the building out of sight, I waited for the goblins to move to where I would have a clear shot.
Activating Enhanced Hearing, I struggled at first to hear anything besides Victoria running off. Her closeness amped up her sound. Still, I didn’t have to wait long.
As the goblins neared, the sounds of each step assaulted my senses. It was incredible how much detail you could get just from listening. The nasally sound, with grunts mixed in, must have been their language. The rhythmic drop of chain came from the goblin warriors’ armor. Thunderous thuds drummed the hobgoblins’ march as they neared.
There was no guesswork needed, nor did I have to peek out into the street to know where my target was.
It became hard to breath as I realized I was about to throw a rock at a creature that had literally crushed me two nights before. The image of those slaughtered players came back to me. The wrongness of it all fed fuel to the flame inside me. But I remembered Victoria’s anger at seeing those bodies. Her tears. I had a job to do.
Suddenly, I became very still. My breathing slowed.
When the hobgoblins reached the middle of the intersection I stepped out onto the street. Pacing toward them, I picked up speed until I unleashed my stone. With all of my might, I heaved the rock with intent to kill.
The hobgoblins were dead center in the middle of the goblin force. Dozens surrounded them.
Black lightning struck. The rock hit the closest hobgoblin right in the neck. It stumbled back, feeling the rock’s sting.
The goblins around the creature reacted as quickly to the attack as the hobgoblin himself. They were very in tune with the deadly beast.
Within moments the entire goblin party was looking at me.
My hand gripped the hilt of my sword to draw it out, but a sliver of sanity stayed my hand. If I drew my sword I was going to attack. If I attacked I would die. If I died… My friends. Victoria.
As the first sling let loose, I released the hilt of my sword and ran.
Passing the back road Victoria had taken, I led them away from her and the front gate.
Part of me wanted them to catch me.
Reaching full stride, I began to pump my arms to increase my speed even more. I didn’t care anymore. At my highest gear I flew, their bullets couldn’t reach me.
After a couple hundred meters, I turned and saw their pace was pathetic. A few more bullets were thrown at me, but they were easy to dodge with night vision. I knew the hobgoblins were incredibly fast if the need arose, but for some reason, they were still wading in the middle of the goblin party.