Qing's Quest book 2, Chapter 21: Choo Choo!

Qing sprinted down the canal, hopping across the sewer, side to side, keeping his movements as random as he could. Missiles of mud and bone flew past him. A hiss cut through the air, and he dove into a roll, tucking his head. As he came out, he kicked off the wall, throwing himself across the sewer. The sewer serpent slapped into the stones where he’d been, fangs snapping at empty air. Its green and slick scales gliding along the sewer’s bank. He scrambled on all fours.

Keep moving! Not a second to spare.

He knew he shouldn’t, but as he kicked off into a run, he threw a glance backward anyways. He swallowed, pushing against fear.

I might have overdone it.

Several of the monsters he’d dubbed ghoul swarms sprinted between the many mud golems. Their emaciated bodies were so twisted together, crawling so furiously across each other, twisted together, that each swarm looked like a writhing, undead carpet, as wider and long as Qing stood tall. He desperately did not want to fight it in close combat. Each ghoul was tiny, but there were so many of them, climbing over one another to reach him, skeletal fingers reaching, rotten teeth gnashing.

There! An X.

That meant the tunnel would lead towards the octagonal chamber. He sprinted so fast that when he used the wall to turn his momentum, bricks cracked under his palms, and he felt his bones protest.

Worse than the pain was the massive bone, like the leg of an elephant, swung at his head like a baseball bat on the pitch. Quick Reflexes proc’ed, and the muscles in his back contracted, pulling him down and to the side, sliding underneath the bone collectors’ strike.

Freaky bastard.

The monster stood twice his height and smelled dry and dusty, like an ancient grave. In his haste, he hadn’t seen it waiting in the tunnel. Now he reached out and grabbed what would normally be a hip bone and pulled himself forward, hissing. The bone, sharp as a blade and cold as ice, sliced into his gauntlets.

Just how many monsters are down here?

The plan was working too well, and it felt like he’d gathered hundreds of monsters behind him as he’d sprinted through the sewers. It was almost as if they had collapsed on him by design, but surely that couldn’t be. He’d been running randomly.

A few minutes ago, the force had been big enough, but he’d been forced to use his Dash skill to dodge a tunnel stalker unexpectedly reaching its slim hand from a shadow. Nothing larger than a fat rat should have been able to hide in such a pipe, but the elongated, human-eyed monster that pulled itself out stood taller than him and smelled of blood and crap.

Since Dash had a key role to play in his plan, he’d been forced to do a detour, picking up additional groups of monsters.

Finally, he spotted the octagon chamber. “Watch out! Incoming!” He called loud enough to be heard in the chamber, but not all the way to the palace entrance.

If they haven’t prepared and hidden by now, then God help us.

He sprinted into the room and across the bridge, heading for the tunnel that led to the palace, seeing no sign of his three friends.

Good. Hopefully, that means the monsters won’t spot them either.

At the mouth of the tunnel to the palace entrance, he paused, turning. Monsters boiled into the room from the other side. Mud golems lumbered, ghoul swarms swarmed, and the sewer itself writhed with sewer serpents. Looming over them were the bone collectors, rubbing elbows with the tunnels stalkers.

Oh damn. This was the wrong plan. We could have filled the room with explosives or oil and lured them all in before burning them to hell. The experience points from that alone…it could have taken me to level sixteen or maybe even seventeen.

But it was too late to change the play halfway. He was committed. He conjured up a Firebolt and threw it, arcing into the back of the pack, ensuring he would keep aggro as more and more monsters surged into the room. They spread out in their eagerness to reach him.

Just a little closer…

He needed to make sure the entire room emptied afterwards, or his friends might be doomed.

As the monsters closed, he walked backwards, speeding up, but letting the monsters catch up. When they were only three steps away, he matched their speed and ran, keeping his shoulder next to the right side of the tunnel. That would keep him hidden from the defenders until he stepped into the opening.

“Please don’t step out to investigate the monster sounds,” he said, muttering to himself. “Be obedient soldiers and stay behind your defenses. Don’t be idi—”

Quick reflexes proc’ed, and he hopped, tucking his feet. A spear made of bone flashed by. If not for his passive, it would have hit his lower back, likely disabling his legs, and they would catch and devour him in seconds.

Too close. These monsters are too powerful. I need to grow stronger.

Then he was at the opening and he looked into the palace’s sewer entrance. Unlike the rest of the dankly lit sewer, this room was flooded with torchlight, shadows flickering. Its walls were scrubbed clean at the top, yet bloody at the bottom. At the opposite wall he saw the end of a wooden barricade stretching from the wall.

It’s set up like a tower defense game.

Before he stepped out past the wall, he activated his sandals, Dashing down the tunnel and past the opening in the blink of an eye, air rushing past his ears.

He looked back. If everything went according to plan, the monsters should ignore him and attack the defenders.

His legs kept pounding as the monsters closed on the entrance, still focused on him.

They ran alongside the opening, still focused on him.

They were nearly past the opening, still focused on him.

Oh shit. They’re still coming. They didn’t aggro onto the guards. What the hell do I—

A whomp followed by a flash of warmth filled the corridor as a fireball exploded in the monsters’ midst, blowing apart a dozen and knocking others to the ground. Ghoul swarms rolled across each other, fire spreading among them. Mud golems caught in the blast were blown to pieces. Those containing the tokens moved, while the rest settled onto the ground, lifeless. The one tunnel stalker hit was simply blown apart, but the bone collector had survived. While smashed into the wall and having lost half its bones, it started to put its blackened bones back together, scorched, yet very much unalive. No longer running for his life, Qing spotted a glowing, dark green object within its rib cage, like a poisoned star.

Javelins and crossbow bolts peppered the monsters, focusing on the bone collector. They clattered harmlessly off until one snuck between its ribs to pierce the green star. Light erupted, and it exploded like an unholy hand grenade, pieces of bone working like shrapnel, tearing apart more monsters.

The train of monsters he’d gathered funneled into the room, engaging the defenders.

That did it.

He sank down on his haunches. While he had plenty of stamina and felt as if he could run for hours still, the mental strain of avoiding getting lost in the sewer while avoiding attacks and ambushes made it feel as if he’d been raiding with his guild for twelve hours straight with no break.

Screams, roars and explosions filled the air as more and more monsters charged into the room.

“How many did you bring?”

Qing jumped in the air, his heart nearly bursting from his mouth as he twisted in the air to find Morgana standing right behind him.

“What? You didn’t hear me approach?” She raised an eyebrow and twisted her hips, lifting one leg to show off her boots. “I’ll definitely get used to these.”

Knut walked further behind, arrow nocked. Taj brought up the rear, mouth agape, as he stared at the train of monsters.

“My eyes must be lying,” Taj said.

“Yeah, this is a new record in pissing off monsters, even for you,” Knut said.

“How are you here?” Qing said.

“What?”

“I thought we agreed you would wait in the octagonal room.”

”And risk you doing something like, well, this?” Morgana said, pointing at an abnormally large ghoul swarm.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of monsters down here,” Qing said, scratching the back of his head.

“What is happening in my city?” Taj said, spear held limp by his side.

Another fireball blasted into the monsters, followed by a loud and commanding voice. “Re-form the lines and gather the wounded!”

“I think we need to get ready.” Knut said, stretching his back.

“I can’t believe this might actually work,” Morgana added, uncoiling her magical whip.

“You are crazy,” Taj said. “How can we…” He indicated the seemingly never-ending train of mobs.

“You haven’t seen nothing yet.” Morgana gave him a smile. “Just wait until Qing gets going.”

“Enough,” Qing said. “There’s too many for the guards to stop. We need to get close, without attracting any monsters, so we are ready when they open the door. Now, one more time. Morgana, your only job is to get through the room and hold that door. Got that?”

“Hold the door.” She nodded.

“Hodor,” Qing said, fighting back a smile as he turned to Knut. “You make her a way. And Taj, you just get to the other side without dying. I suggest following Knut closely.”

“What’ll you do?” Taj asked.

“I’m gonna grind some experience,” Qing said with a grin as they moved closer.

Then came the command Qing had been waiting for.

“Retreat to point A! We can’t hold.”

Qing held up a hand, three fingers up. Three seconds should be enough for the soldiers to start retreating, focusing less on what came into the room and more on escaping it. Whoever stood behind the door should also have time to start opening it.

He counted down, and they sprang into action.

The handle of Paulhandler’s keg-smasher felt comforting in his hands as he sprinted towards the monsters. It was his job to buy the others the seconds they needed to get into the room and start moving towards the door. As he peered into the mass of monsters, an idea struck him. Something he hadn’t tried yet. He blinked, and in that moment called light energy down, casting Smite. The axe’s head glowed.

Does the spell only affect the first limb it hits, or is it a full attack? Will Smite hit a full cleave?

He charged and swiped the axe horizontally with a grunt, feet set wide and back muscles stretched taut as he struck with all his might.

The axe carved straight through a sewer serpent’s scaly torso as it reared up to strike. Green goo splashed out, but did nothing to slow the axe. A bone collector had been mid-strike until the axe carved through its hip. The bones weren’t pushed apart. They were simply cut, and it tumbled to the ground, mixing with a Mud Golem whose legs Qing had lobbed off. All in one strike.

One tap on his shoulder.

That was Morgana sprinting behind him, into the room.

He called on the arcane magic, casting Magic Missiles, releasing them point-blank into a tunnel stalker. Its elongated face was blasted apart as a ghoul swarm jumped through the air, aimed at his chest.

A second tap on his back. That would have been Knut.

He met the ghoul swarm with fire, casting a Firebolt that left his hand a split second before they reached him. Only one Golem survived to slap onto his chest plate, claws and teeth sliding across the metal. Like a wolf on Wall Street, Qing struck his chest with a fist, and the ghoul splattered as he felt the third pat on his back. Taj was past.

Only then did Qing step into the room and turn his focus. It looked as if he was stepping into hell. Blood, guts, and monster parts lay draped across the floor, the wooden barriers, walls, even the ceiling. On the far side, a metallic door crept open, slow as a bank vault. It opened inwards, so whoever stood inside was out of sight.

He’d hoped it was an outie.

Morgana had already jumped the first wooden barrier, hugging the left wall, as nearly all the monsters were clustered on the right, having entered on that side of the room. Fifteen soldiers yet lived, most having dropped their cross-bows and now wielded two-handed axes. The front line of spearmen had been destroyed.

Next to the door stood a handsome man with a chiseled jaw and a white cloth draped across his head. He wore a green robe trimmed with gold. His eyes went wide, darting between Knut, Morgana, Taj, and Qing.

The wizard.

He raised his hands, fingers spread, and lightning arced into the room.

An elementalist.

One fork hit Knut, who screamed and collapsed, sliding to a halt next to the second wooden barrier. The four other bolts struck monsters, stunning or blasting them apart where they stood.

Morgana reached across her hip before flashing her hand towards him.

“Close the—” was all the wizard got out before Morgana’s poisoned dagger slipped into his throat, blood spraying across wooden steps as he collapsed, limbs shaking.

Yet these soldiers were no raw recruits. Morgana had been right about that. Step by step, they retreated orderly towards the door, fighting the monsters, shoulder to shoulder. Taj was struggling to climb the first wooden barrier.

This is too slow.

Qing glanced at Knut, who struggled to sit up. Morgana leapt the last barrier, trying to outflank the defenders, but two peeled off to intercept her. She needed support.

The wooden barriers were made of thick stakes, facing outwards, mounted on top of shield-like planks, and topped with spikes, allowing for impalement from the front and the top. They did wound the monsters, but the wounds didn’t slow them.

Usually, they must only get a handful of monsters attacking at a time.

Qing rushed to the first barrier. “Get back down,” he said to Taj, who complied only to happily.

Let’s see if this’ll work. Instead of climbing over, maybe I can use these.

He grasped the barrier, muscles straining. At first, it didn’t move. But then, teeth gritted, legs and back straining like a record attempt for the world’s strongest deadlift, wood snapped and he lifted a third of the barrier clean off the floor. Pivoting, he roared and swung it like a massive club, mashing a dozen monster to pulp as the barrier smashed into them. He stumbled backwards, releasing the now cracked barrier, and waved Taj through. For a moment, he was about to follow, but first he checked his character sheet. That made him halt in his steps.

He had a new plan.