(Morcster Chef Book 2) - Chapter 52 (Patreon)

“More than some, but less than we need,” the guard said. “We’ve got some enchanted explosives, but they’re meant for mining, not combat. They’re precision charges, so they aren’t meant to fight monsters, but they’re better than nothing.”

Belmont nodded. He pulled out the map that Valea had given them and unfurled it on the ground between them. He knelt, pointing at several spots along the roads near them. “We need to make sure that the monsters come into the tight alleyways. They can’t be too tight, though. If the wyrms can’t fit, they’ll try to find another way. They’ve got to just be big enough for the monsters to fit, but not enough for them have room to maneuver.”

The guard rubbed his chin, examining the map with Belmont. “I suppose that makes sense. But how do we force them to enter the right alleyways? We’re not going to have enough explosives to cover the entire side of the wall. They’ll just end up going around a lot of our traps.”

“That’s what destroying part of the wall would solve,” Belmont replied. “But, we can also destroy some buildings to make rubble that can block some of the larger alleys. We don’t want them coming down the Main Street. That’ll be incredibly difficult to defend. We’re around as strong as the wyrms in a one on one fight, but we’ll be crushed if there’s a swarm.”

“Hm. I see what you’re getting at,” the man said. He examined the map for a short while longer. Then his eyes set in stone and he stood up, examining Belmont carefully for a few moments. “Your plan is better than anything we’ve thought of so far. I’m not sure if it’s because your delusional or not, but I almost find myself believing you. I will pass tell the council that I support your plan. I can give you the explosives to set up while my guards demolish some structures to block stud larger streets. Once they’re finished, they’ll head over to defend the small alleyways. Which locations will your team cover?”

“These four,” Belmont said, tapping several locations near the edge of the wall. The guard’s eyebrows rose. “Right next to the wall? Are you sure, son? The horde will hit that the hardest.”

“They’ll hit everywhere hard,” Malissa said, stepping up to stand beside Belmont. “We’ll hold our spots.”

“I’ve dealt with worse,” Arek said, nodding. “Not much worse, but worse.”

Ming have a halfhearted agreement, but she seemed distracted. Her hands were clenched tightly at her sides. If they had more time, Arek would have pressed on the issue. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

The captain gave them a grim smile. “I pray we’ll all be able to say the same in the future.”

Belmont gave him a curt nod. He folded the map back up and stood up. The two men exchanged a glance. The captain gave Belmont a small nod.

“If we make it through this, we’ll need to have a chat. I’d love to know why you’ve put so much thought into withstanding a monster horde,” the man said. “My name is Captain Riggs.”

“Belmont. I’m with the Happy Sunflowers,” Belmont replied.

Riggs grabbed a pouch from his waist and tossed it to Belmont.

“Extra-dimensional bag. Bombs are inside it, and I expect it back if we don’t get overrun.”

The captain gave them a curt nod and headed back towards the walls, barking orders at the guards. Belmont returned to the group and reached inside the bag, pulling out a small red ball about the size of his fist. Runes had been carved all along it, and there was a large black dot at the top.

“It’s hard to tell when the dungeon horde will escape,” Belmont said, handing the ball to Malissa and pulling another identical one out. “As I told Riggs, we’ll need to split up. We’ve got to set up these explosives, then get to our designated defense points and hold off the horde as long as possible. I’d ask if we’re all up to it, but…”

“There’s no choice,” Arek finished. “It’s fine, Belmont. We’re not going to let the city fall without a fight. None of us are running away. Just tell us what to do.”

Belmont distributed the rest of the bombs. In the end, each of them got four of the small explosives.

“The explosion will follow the direction of the dot on the top of the ball,” Belmont said, making eye contract with each of them. He turned the ball in his hands over, revealing a small string pasted to the bottom. “Detach the string to arm it. One end will stay connected to the ball. When you pull on the string, it’ll explode. It’s only very lightly connected, so don’t worry about moving the direction of the detonation.”

“Understood,” Arek said. “If we’re arming the other locations, should we just unstick the strings and leave the bombs like that for a guard to find them?”

“That should work,” Belmont said. “Just get them in the right position. The explosives will be helpful, but the most important thing is to funnel the horde into this part of the city and slow them with the alleys. If it gets too thick, back off.”

The other members of the party nodded. Belmont drew a deep breath, then swore. He unfurled the map again.

“Arek, take these four spots,” Belmont said, tapping four locations on the map. “And defend the one closest to the wall.”

Arek quickly memorized the locations Belmont pointed at. Then he tossed the bombs into his travel pack and gave the rest of the group a nod.

“Good luck, everyone,” Arek said. “Don’t die. We’re sure to get a rank up out of this, and it’ll ruin it if one of us doesn’t make it.”

He turned and dashed towards the first of his locations while Belmont told Malissa and Ming where they should go.