Grand Game 203: A Fight Amongst the Dead (Patreon)

Wrapped in shadow, I sat in vigil at the intersection of four of the dungeon corridors. It had taken me five minutes of breathless and silent running to get here.

Behind me, I heard nothing.

Either Toff’s party had chosen to pursue Wengulax instead, or they’d abandoned the chase altogether. I didn’t care much which. Going at the hunt alone suited me just fine—this way less would be left to chance.

I was under no misapprehension, though. Gintalush would not be an easy quarry. Nor would he remain in flight forever. Soon, I expected, the mantis would begin hunting me in turn.

If he was not already.

But I had a few things in my favor, not least of which was that I’d memorized the sector’s floorplan. It thus came as no surprise to me when less than a minute after I’d positioned myself, a Game message unfurled in my mind.

You have detected a hostile entity. Gintalush is no longer hidden!

The green-clad mantis materialized less than nine feet from me, entering the intersection from the north. It was exactly where I’d anticipated intercepting him. I, myself, had raced through the western fork to get here.

The assassin spun about as the shadows fell away from him. He must’ve received a notice from the Adjudicator informing him that he had been revealed.

Standing stock-still, the mantis scanned the darkness behind him. His thoughts were easy to decipher. Gintalush suspected someone of following him down the northern corridor.

I didn't move.

I was sitting just inside the western passage and was confident of my own ability to remain hidden from the mantis. I’d done it before, and this time my stealth was higher. But even with Gintalush standing in easy reach, I knew better than to attempt fighting him in hand-to-hand combat again.

Before I engaged the assassin, I would do my utmost to ensure it was not a fair fight.

Extended my mindsight, I probed the adjacent chambers. A trio of skeletons was to my right, behind a locked door just a little way down the southern passage. To my left was a room filled with ghouls, while a solitary vampire occupied one of the chambers across the intersection.

My gaze flicked back to Gintalush. He still hadn’t moved. Then, in what I took to be a sure indication the assassin intended on confronting his pursuer, the mantis reached into his pocket and withdrew a handful of hunter eyes.

I stayed where I was.

I didn't fear the scouting orbs anymore. Hidden, shielded, and protected by a scent ward as I was, the hunter eyes would be blind to my presence. Just like Gintalush was.

Still, it would suit me if the assassin was less wary.

My eyes drifted back to the locked rooms. The skeletons seemed the most suitable for what I had in mind, and I analyzed all three.

The target is a level 133 skeleton warrior.

The target is a level 138 skeleton knight.

The target is a level 136 skeletal mage.

They’ll do, I decided. Gintalush, meanwhile, had flung the hunter eyes in the air, sending them racing back up the passage from which he’d come.

I waited until the orbs had disappeared, then dropped my mind shield and sent psi reaching into the southern chamber. Working quickly, lest the orbs return, I divided my casting into three separate weaves and simultaneously flooded the minds of the skeletons in the room.

You have cast mass charm.

A skeletal mage has passed a mental resistance check!

A skeleton knight has passed a mental resistance check!

A skeleton warrior has failed a mental resistance check!

You have charmed 1 of 3 targets for 10 seconds.

My spell was less successful than I hoped, but the one minion I’d managed to acquire would still suffice for what I had in mind. Reaching out to the skeletal warrior, I gave it its orders before renewing my mind shield.

A resounding bang echoed through the corridor, and Gintalush dropped into a half crouch as he whipped around.

The heavy thud came again.

There was a moment of stark silence.

Another thud.

Realizing the source of the sound, the assassin rose to his feet and padded up to the door in question. More thuds broke the silence. It was the sound of the skeleton warrior hacking at the door with his axe.

Gintalush listened intently at the door. A moment later, he relaxed and scanned the corridor in both directions. Then with a quite evident shrug, the mantis headed south.

I smiled grimly. My ploy had worked, and the assassin had been tricked into believing it was a hostile inside the room that had detected him earlier.

For a handful of seconds, I watched the mantis as he slipped away. Gintalush didn’t bother recloaking himself in shadow, and nor did he recall the hunter eyes he’d sent north.

He’s feeling safe again.

After the distance between us had drawn out sufficiently, I followed in my quarry’s wake.

~~~

I followed Gintalush for ten long minutes as his wandering took him eastwards and towards a remote quarter of the dungeon. During that time, the assassin periodically released more hunter eyes—to search the tunnels, I presumed—but not once did he look back or hide again.

It was almost as if Gintalush was inviting an attack.

I was tempted to do just that, but I schooled myself to patience and waited for the right moment. Just what that moment was, I wasn’t sure—not until I saw Gintalush slip into a passage that I knew was a dead-end.

This is it.

I waited for the assassin to disappear from sight. He would be back once he reached the cul-de-sac, but that would take at least five minutes, giving me enough time to prepare for his return.

Opening my mindsight, I scanned the rooms on either side of the corridor. All were overflowing with undead. I smiled tightly. It seemed like I was spoiled for choice.

Picking the most appropriate rooms and monsters, I got to work.

~~~

A little later, my ambush was set.

Crouching in the shadows ten yards from the spot I’d chosen, I watched Gintalush saunter up the passage. He looked no more wary than when he’d left. Perfect.

My traps had been laid, my blades were drawn, and I’d renewed my buffs and precast ventro. I was ready as I could be.

Eyes narrowed, I waited for the right moment to launch my ambush. This time, I’d taken the added precaution of laying my trap triggers in out-of-the-way corners. There was no chance of Gintalush stumbling upon them beforehand.

Blissfully unaware of the fate awaiting him, the mantis entered the trapped area. I rose silently to my feet. Gintalush took two more steps.

Now.

“Boo!” I whispered, using ventro to project my voice to the hidden triggers behind the mantis.

Gintalush spun about, searching for the half-caught sound.

In the same heartbeat, the sound glasses shattered.

You have triggered 4 x traps!

The assassin’s response was immediate. Reacting like a scalded cat, he backed up against the wall to his left, his gaze flitting over the floor suspiciously. Gintalush’s reaction was understandable—if mistaken.

It was not the ground I’d trapped.

In the next instant, the doors of four rooms—two on either side of the assassin—yawned open as the explosives I placed on their locks denoted.

The undead spilled out in a rush.

There were over a dozen of the creatures—ghouls, skeletons, and zombies—and Gintalush was stuck between them. Reflexively, the assassins’ blades flew up.

But this time, not even the assassin’s exceptional blade work would save him. In a mad dash, the undead converged on their target.

A zombie slashed at the mantis with blistering speed. The assassin dodged the blow easily enough and the next, too, from a skeletal knight, but not so the third—an open fist from a diseased ghoul. Gintalush flinched at the impact but kept fighting.

More blows rained down on the beleaguered assassin. The mantis did his best, but he was outmatched. As many attacks as he parried away, he was struck by twice as many.

Safe in the shadows, I observed the fight impassively. Gintalush was doomed. Seeming to realize the same, the assassin attempted to escape. Stilling momentarily, the mantis split in five, no six, copies.

As one, all the illusions—one hiding the real Gintalush—turned to escape in my direction.

But fleeing the undead proved harder than the mantis’ previous getaway. For one, the monsters were much closer, and almost as soon as they appeared, two of the images were cut down. The other four replicas escaped destruction but suffered heavy damage.

My hands tightening around my blades, I studied the four onrushing figures. There was as nearly as much red as green on the mantis’ clothing, and I knew I had to finish Gintalush before he escaped and recovered. My gaze skipping over the replicas, I analyzed each in turn.

You have passed a Perception check!

The target is an illusion.

The target is an illusion.

The target is an illusion.

The target is Gintalush, a level 171 insectoid blade dancer.

Got you, I thought. Readying my blades, I placed myself in the fleeing mantis’ path.

A hostile entity has detected you! You are no longer hidden.

A second before he ran into me, Gintalush sensed my presence. His eyes grew round, and he frantically tried to bring up his lowered blades. But the mantis wounds were too severe, and he moved only at half-speed.

Too slow by far to stop me.

My stygian blade and ebonheart plunged forward, one to rip out the mantis’ throat, the other to pierce his heart.

You have killed Gintalush.

You have slain a disciple of Menaq, earning his ire!

You have gained in experience and reached level 103!

One down, one to go, I thought.