"Be careful, Rand," she said, as they each turned in a different direction to attack their foes. "We have to stick together if we hope to win the day."
"A-ha!" he cried, taking off the head of the last goblin. "Nice try, my desert rose, but you won't keep me from reaching Lord Kathro first."
Rand raced up the stairs. Asha cried out for him to stop. He laughed and continued upward. Victory and glory were at the top of those stairs. In a matter of minutes he could reach Lord Kathro before any of the others, defeat him in mortal combat, and claim Tiana, Asha, and the castle as his own!
Bards will sing of my glory. I'll be a great legend in the Kingdom of Kumar. Hell, I'll be a king, he thought. He paused at the next level up, seeing a corridor passing through the keep to the other side, another corridor followed the wall all of the way around the edge, with the stairs continuing up to his right. He glanced back down the stairs, grinning. And Fergus will stew in his jealous juices.
A loud crash of arms back in the entry made him hesitate. Did his friends need him? But then a pair of orks appeared in the corridor and took challenging stances. They weren't zombies, so even more dangerous. His hands tightened on his axe's thick haft, eyes narrowing.
"The glory is mine!" he shouted and charged.
Chapter 41
Tiana sent an arrow through the heart of a goblin running up the stairs after Rand. Panic hit her for a second, afraid Rand might actually get to Lord Kathro first. Would he pick her over Asha? The thief couldn't imagine anyone choosing her over the sorceress, but then the dwarf had been watching her more than usual.
Did I really agree to that challenge? Does not refusing it constitute acceptance?
Asha was halfway up the stairs and following Rand. It was much more likely the sorceress would reach Lord Kathro first, and defeat him. Still…
Fergus grunted, stumbling back from a group of ork Dread Ones. He was too pressed to use his bow, so was fighting with a sword. One of them struck him, but she didn't see blood. It didn't look good for the elven ranger. Then Asha came tumbling back down the stairs, with the last of the goblins racing down after her. The thief saw a path she could speed along where she could help both of her friends.
Activating the Ring of Speed, Tiana took off like a bullet toward Fergus. She hit that gap between him and the orks, while swinging her sword and slicing open the orks' bellies. Once past she only had to veer a little and she'd reach Asha long before the goblins got to her.
"Ugh," she cried.
The last ork in line swung the round shield she hadn't noticed. The speeding thief was struck in the shoulder, which sent her off in a new direction. In a heartbeat she found herself streaking over the edge of the staircase going down into the dungeons. She was airborne a second, bounced off the descending ceiling, and crashed in a heap at the base of the stairs one level down.
"Uggh. Ooooh, that fucking hurt."
She rolled onto her back, hearing heavy footsteps coming quickly down the stairs. She'd lost the sword, and the bow across her back was snapped in two. Tiana pulled her long belt knife, and struggled to her knees.
Last act of defiance before I die?
Two of the orks she attacked, including the shield holder, came down the stairs. They trailed entrails, and even their arms and faces showed signs of brutal, bloody attack. One of them was missing an eye, and another missing his nose, left cheek, and left ear. Both carried spiked maces.
Tiana spotted her sword atop the stair's bottom tread. She clutched her left hand, with the Ring of Speed, and willed herself super fast. And nothing happened.
"What the hell?"
It took her a second to remember there were usage restrictions. She wasn't sure how many times she'd used it, or how long they'd been fighting. Seemed like days on end.
"Sometimes my life sucks."
The redhead quickly rose and took off running away. The Dread Ones followed silently. She ran about twenty feet, but not too fast. She wanted them to catch up. Just before they came within striking range, Tiana cut a crafty look back at them, before feigning right, and taking off to the left and around.
One of the undead orks stumbled and fell. The other quickly went after her. She laughed and raced back to her dropped sword. It felt amazing in her hand. Then the sound of more Dread Ones coming down the stairs reached her.
"Shit, shit, shit!"
She was forced to spin around and engage the charging ork. Slash, parry, thrust, she bloodied her tip in his throat, but not enough to kill the undead. She ducked low and close, dragging her keen-edged sword across the back of the ork's knees. He grunted as he fell, unable to walk.
Too many Dread Ones were charging down the stairs, so Tiana turned and ran for it. Torches lit the way. The corridor was lined with closed doors. She ran all of the way across the width of the keep to find another set of stairs. They were narrow, going up and down. The up-stairs were guarded by an ork, so she turned down the other stairs.
Not helping my situation here.
Chapter 42
The pain was real. Way too real for a stupid game. Asha struggled to her feet at the base of the stairs. Angry goblins were coming down toward her.
I'd be angry too if I was an undead goblin, she thought. Rand was nowhere to be seen, so was well ahead of everyone in the search for Lord Kathro. I swear, I'll kill every goblin in this world if I have to shag him tonight.
She snatched up the Power Sword and fell back a few steps. It was better to force the much shorter goblins to attack on level ground than come down upon her from above. A quick glance around the chamber located Fergus finishing off a few orks, but no sign of Tiana. The fact some Dread Ones were heading down the stairs to the dungeon indicated the thief was down there for some reason. That was all of the time Asha had to consider it, since the undead goblins had reached her.
Hitting them with her Bind spell, Asha stopped all but the last one. He plowed through his cohorts, knocking them over, and came straight at her with a cudgel. She dodged left and right, avoiding his savage strikes. Then she parried with the sword, before kicking him in the face. The zombie's arms flew wide as he staggered back, giving her a perfect shot at his heart.
The Power Sword exploded the goblin's chest the instant it pierced his heart.
"Ugh, so nasty," she muttered wiping goblin blood and gore off her face.
Asha quickly took off the heads of the magically frozen zombies. The entry chamber was clear of Dead Ones, and Fergus was heading down into the basement. She glanced back up the stairs, wondering how far ahead of her Rand had gotten.
"If he gets himself killed, I swear I'll kill him."