Cat Core, Chapter 30.

Chapter 30.

Shara was jolted awake, sitting up as she tried to shake off the fog of sleep and remember what had woken her. It was getting cold and she was reluctant to leave her blankets to see what was going on. After sitting by the fire chatting with her friends, Shara had called it an early night. Was it Roland and Nala coming back from their hunt that had woken her?

“Shara, get up! There’s a problem,” Nala shouted from outside. With a groan she grabbed her gear and left the tent, finding the rogue shouting into the tents of the other members of her party.

“What’s going on?” Vanderman asked, also clearly annoyed at having been woken up so early.

“Those cultists, the followers of Kunrax are back. There’s a whole swarm of them in the forest and they’re coming here to destroy the town and the dungeon,” Nala explained.

“Really? Where’s Roland, is he okay?” Shara asked, concerned about her friend.

“He was fine when I left, he was staying back to get an exact count, but there must have been at least a couple of hundred of them. We need to warn everyone,” Nala said.

“You’re right, let’s spread the word, but what do we do?” Vanderman asked.

“What do you mean?” Shara replied.

“Do we fight, or do we try to escape? It sounds like there’s a whole world of hurt heading this way if there are as many of them as you say. While I would hate to see the dungeon destroyed, it may be best to get out of harm’s way,” Vanderman offered as Ox joined them. The big guy did not like waking up, but the continued commotion had finally roused him.

“I’m not giving up what we have here. This may be our only chance to pursue our dream. All I ever wanted to be was an adventurer and if the dungeon is destroyed, so is that dream. I say we fight, at least for as long as we can. If things get too dangerous, we can try to escape,” Shara said.

“I agree, I just want to make sure the rest of you feel the same way,” Vanderman said.

“I don’t think we can handle what’s coming by ourselves, but I’ve thrown my lot in with this party and I won’t turn my back on you guys, no matter the odds,” Nala said.

“So, is this the creepy dog people you’re talking about?” Ox asked, still half asleep.

“Yes, they’re coming here to destroy the dungeon and the town. Whatever you guys decide, do it quick, I don’t think we have time to sit around discussing things,” Nala said.

“Oh, if it’s those guys, I want to fight. I can’t let them kill Florence Valentine, that wouldn’t be honorable,” Ox said.

“Good, we stand and fight, but let’s not do it alone, Nala, you warn the adventurer camps, most of them are pretty close to the forest and will be the first hit. Ox, you go warn Korbo’s group on the other side of town and I’ll head to Ben’s place. He has a lot of workers that have no business being in the middle of a battle. Shara, you can raise the alarm with the other inn. After that, everyone meets at Ben’s place and we’ll see what we have to work with,” Vanderman ordered. Shara was glad to see him take charge and his initial plan was sound, what they would do after raising the alarm was still a bit unclear.

The party broke up to spread the warning and Shara ran toward the other, somewhat disreputable tavern, which was conveniently located across the street from Ben’s growing business. As she approached, the lights were all out, the patrons of the tavern were usually up late drinking and doing whatever it was they did in there, but the hour must have been too late for even their nightly revelries.

“Hey, open up, there’s a problem out here, the town’s in danger!” Shara said, pounding on the door as she heard Vanderman do the same across the street. She kept banging and calling out, almost leaving them to their fate when she finally heard someone shuffling their way toward the door.

“Keep it down out there, we’re closed!” A gruff voice demanded.

“The town’s under attack and we need your help to defend it,” she pleaded.

“Mind your own business and we’ll mind ours. If you or anyone else wants to come in here and cause trouble, we can handle it,” the voice said confidently. This was a lost cause and if they wanted to face this on their own, it wasn’t her business. Running across the street and into Ben’s place, Shara arrived about the same time as Ox did, Korbo’s party following closely behind him. With Korbo’s group were the three new adventurers that his party had been helping to get geared and leveled up. Cameron, Klaus, and Corrine still had a long way to go, but they were starting to learn the ropes.

“It sounds like they have summoned an Avatar of Kunrax, it will be powerful as its strength is greater than the sum of the parts that formed it. We need to prepare, Junior, get that thing operating. Krieger, you, and Sean make sure the work teams are headed in and that the other merchants are aware of what’s going on. Lhorn, you run down the street and keep an eye out for the cultists,” Ben said, issuing orders to his people once he had heard Vanderman’s description of what was coming.

Junior was setting up a large iron frame near the back of the shop that was shaped like a door. He was busy placing glowing crystals into various spots on the frame, concentrating hard on his task while muttering activation spells. The three burly men that Ben had hired to keep an eye on things after the goblin attack, ran to follow his orders. The bartender and server from the tavern side of the business began to clear away some of the furniture, giving them all more room to move.

“Vanderman, did you have an actual plan?” Ben asked.

“Well, uh, no, I guess my first thoughts were to warn everyone what was coming,” Vanderman admitted.

“We can help,” A man that Shara recalled was the leader of one of the adventuring groups said. Along with another group that came from a wealthier background than her own, they had purchased rooms in the inn rather than sleep outside in tents like most of the other parties.

“Head out to the adventuring camp, try to get them organized to hold back the attack. If things get too hot for you, fall back to the inn,” Ben offered. The man nodded and followed his orders. Despite being a merchant, Ben had a commanding authority that most of the adventurers respected.

“We’ll take care of this,” the confident adventurer said, leading the two parties toward the edge of town.

“Should we join them?” Vanderman asked.

“No, stick around for a bit, I may need your help here,” Ben said.

“Those guys across the street aren’t going to help,” Shara offered.

“I didn’t suspect they would. Here are my thoughts. We need to offer some defense, whittle down the cultists' numbers so the dungeon has a chance to defend itself. We’ll put up what fight we can, then retreat into the portal that Junior is setting up,” Ben offered.

“Can’t the dungeon just lock them out?” Shara asked.

“No, the cultists will declare war on the dungeon and that will keep her from just shutting them out. For some reason, the system has that requirement forced into every dungeon, it’s not something they can override. Our best chance is to help even the odds for our dungeon,” Ben said, turning his attention to the first group of workers that stumbled into the shop, still half asleep. He quickly had them start gathering anything valuable in the shop, stuffing what they could into packs or crates.

“Where does this portal lead?” Vanderman said as the magic gateway flashed to life.

“Not all that far, it’s meant to haul a large volume so the magic can only transport those passing through a short distance. In this case, I have it set for a spot about a mile up the road. It should be well away from any fighting. These followers of Kunrax aren’t known for elaborate attack plans and I doubt they’ll have patrols out looking for us. I would suspect they will just run straight in with everything they have, trash the town, and then move on to the dungeon,” Ben said. As the first workers finished loading up, they began to step through the portal.

“Are they going to be safe out there on their own?” Korbo asked.

“They’ll need some protection, I agree, but we also need to mount our defense here. How about you Cameron? Would your party be willing to pass through and help keep an eye on the workers?” Ben asked. It was a good compromise. The three inexperienced adventurers would be of little use in the coming fight but should be enough to keep any hungry forest predators away from the workers that were continuing to stream through the portal.

“We’ll help in any way we can,” Cameron said.

“Junior, give them some loaner gear and send them through,” Ben ordered. Junior led the three to the weapons and armor section of the store, selecting gear that was appropriate to their level. While they had each gone on a couple of runs with Korbo’s group, none of them had earned enough to buy much of what they needed.

“Thank you, Ben,” Cameron said. He looked shocked that the merchant was letting them take so much with them.

“Not a problem, you’re helping me by carrying that gear with you, in fact, make sure you take a crate on your way through,” Ben said. Shara could see how the deal would benefit both, it meant more of his shop’s inventory would make it to safety.

“Sir, this is the last of our people, I heard fighting at the edge of town where most of the adventurers were camped,” Ben’s guard, Sean, said. He had returned to the store leading a final line of workers. It looked like these were the lumberjacks that worked at the edge of town. Shara began to worry about Nala still being out there when she and Roland followed the line of workers into the now crowded shop.

“They’re here, I picked off several on the way,” Roland said.

“Are you hurt?” Shara asked, ready to heal any wounds he might have from his skirmishing.

‘No, they don’t have any ranged weapons except for some mages, or whatever their spell casters are called. Here’s the rundown on what we’re facing,” Roland said, beginning to list all the foes that were heading toward them. It was a long list and the most fearsome item on it was the three-headed monster that Roland and Nala both described. The rest of the enemy was broken up into large parties consisting of around twenty cultists each. While the dog handlers, mages, and the scattering of warriors with real weapons were a threat, most of their numbers looked to be the poorly armed and untrained cultists.

“Nala, what about the other adventuring parties?” Shara asked.

“Most were still getting their gear ready and trying to decide what to do when the cultists arrived. A lot of them ran off once they got a good look at the attackers, but about a score of them are fighting right now,” Nala said.

“Should we go help them?” Vanderman asked, deferring to Ben who seemed to be the most prepared for what was happening.

“It’s too late, if most of the other adventurers are breaking and running, our best bet is to fortify here and bleed them when they try to enter the shop,” Ben offered.

“You would want to hold up here, you just want to protect your business,” Korbo complained.

“Yes, I want to protect my business, but after the goblin attack, I made sure this place was ready to repel an assault,” Ben said. His other two guards had returned leading a handful of merchants and their workers. It looked like not all of them wanted to leave or were willing to leave their shops. His guards began to bar the door leading into the shop and Shara noticed for the first time that the doors to the shop and tavern were heavily reinforced. Also, thick wooden shutters were sealed over the windows, leaving only a small arrow slit for them to see through.

“Fine, we’ll make our stand here as long as you let us use the portal to escape if it comes to that,” Korbo said as screams and the sounds of fighting began to draw closer.

“Good, now, since it’s in the defense of the town, I’ll let anyone borrow gear if you need it. Just remember you’re borrowing it and I expect it back when we’re done,” Ben offered. The offer didn’t need to be made twice to a large group of adventurers. Shara joined in, heading for the armor she had been saving up for. A reinforced chain shirt along with an actual steel helmet. She liked her mace and didn’t want to try a new weapon just before a fight. She was trying out a few of the larger shields when frantic knocking was heard at the door. The guards quickly unbarred the entrance and a half dozen adventurers piled into the shop.

“There’s too many of them, they’re killing everyone,” A man with torn up chainmail said in a panic. It took her a moment to realize it was the confident adventurer that had left the shop earlier.

“Stand with us and help defend the town or leave. That will drop you out on the road a mile from town,” Ben said, gesturing toward the portal. All six ran to the portal, not even thinking about staying to help fight. Shara offered to heal them, but the group just ran for the portal, too terrified to stop for anything.

“I’ll not have anyone stay if they don’t want to. If you have a ranged weapon, pick a spot near an arrow slit and be ready for when they come. The rest of your parties pick a door to defend,” Ben ordered. Roland had picked up the longbow he had been saving up for, glad to give it a test run. After gathering up several quivers of arrows, he positioned himself at the window closest to where the cultists would approach from. The three guards, along with Vanderman were winding up heavy crossbows. Vanderman wasn’t specifically trained in the weapon, but his class allowed him the knowledge of the basics.

Without any skill or desire to figure out a ranged weapon, Shara placed herself near the main shop counter, ready to offer healing magic to anyone that needed it. Lilly, the healer from Korbo’s group, took up a position just behind her party, who were all watching the door to the tavern. The last of the workers were even now hefting up their packages and making their way through the port, the usually crowded place was feeling a bit empty with so much of the stock removed from it.

“Junior, take the cashbox and head out, and before you ask, no, you can’t stay. Take charge of things on the other side,” Ben ordered. Looking like he was going to argue with his father for a moment, Junior relented and pulled a large chest from the back of the store. Shara couldn’t help but wonder exactly how much coin was rattling around inside the obviously heavy box. She had the sneaking suspicion that Ben kept most of his wealth stashed into something nobody would consider taking, something with a magical storage ability.

“They’re setting the other shops on fire,” Roland said from his perch. Her friend pulled back his bow and let an arrow fly. “Got one, they’re standing in the firelight like a bunch of fools,” Roland said, firing again, the guards also began to add their fire to the mix, the heavy crossbows giving off a loud clack each time they released a bolt.

“I’ll take care of any fires,” Korbo said. From what she knew, the mage specialized in some type of frost magic. Shara hoped she wouldn’t have to find out how effective his frost magic would be if the entire building were burning down around them.

“Take out the casters,” one of the guards warned, she thought it was Sean, but they all kind of looked alike to her and they never interacted with the customers whenever she had been in the shop. The sounds of fighting had turned into screams of terror, screams that were much closer than she would have liked. It looked like the battle had reached them, Shara stood ready, her healing powers waiting for the right moment. She cast a glance at the portal and their last chance of escape should things go badly. How long would the portal stay open and how would Ben close it once they were through?