Grand Game 245: Threading the Needle (Patreon)

The room exited into a lightless corridor.

There were a pair of doors on the right and another two on the left. Hurrying forward, I tried the first.

Unfortunately, it was locked.

Damn, I thought and checked my mindsight. As far as I could tell, none of the rooms beyond were occupied. However, the same could not be said of the chamber behind me. It was filling quickly as the assassins slipped into the room.

That wasn’t the only bad news, though.

More mantises had stormed the building’s ground floor while others had climbed past the open window—making for the second floor, I guessed. They were trying to box me in.

Hells, I cursed and padded silently farther down the corridor. The shadows hid me for now, but that could change in an instant.

Another closed door came into sight. Better yet, mindsight reported the presence of a dull mindglow in the room beyond. Not bothering to try the door’s handle, I shadow blinked.

You have teleported 15 yards.

I emerged from the aether besides a sleeping dwarf—a non-player, by all appearance. Leaving him undisturbed, I sidled up to the closed door and tried the handle.

It, too, was locked.

Perfect, I thought and, through my mindsight, observed the mantises creeping up the corridor.

They were advancing slowly but steadily. My lips twitched. My earlier ambushes had taught them caution at least, but the dozen or so mantises were too many for me to handle—even with mass charm. I wait, I decided.

A mantis stopped before the door.

Stilling my breathing, I wove psi together in readiness. The doorknob turned part-way, then stopped as the lock held it back. Would he try breaking in? I wondered.

A strained second passed. Then another.

The assassin released the handle. I exhaled softly, the tension easing out of me. Too soon, it turned out, as my sharp hearing picked out the sound of a familiar buzzing.

Hunter eye.

Urgh. I had no way to disguise my scent from the tracking device, nor was I about to raise a mind shield and deprive myself of the use of my psi abilities. Discovery was inevitable.

I turned my attention to the mindglows on the floors above and below. The mantises on both levels had spread out in a search pattern, and I identified multiple isolated targets.

Which way?

Down offered the quicker path out of the building but would also make pursuit easier.

Up, I decided, and shadow blinked out of the room.

~~~

You have teleported into Yunga’s shadow.

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

My target whirled about, blades snaking towards me. I danced back, stealing a split-second glimpse of the room. It was little different from the chamber below and empty as well, but that would change soon.

The mantis lunged forward again.

I was ready for him. Stepping to the side and out of reach of his leftmost blade, I parried away his second sword with ebonheart while simultaneously ramming my closed fist into the side of his head.

You have stunned your target for 1 second.

My foe staggered back. I followed, drawing a line of red down his torso with ebonheart. A heartbeat later, his stun wore off, and the assassin recovered his footing. Ignoring the blood pouring out of his shoulder, the mantis sent his swords whipping back toward me.

But I was gone already.

You have teleported into Yunga’s shadow.

Emerging behind my target, I sent ebonheart rushing forward. Yunga whipped around, bringing up his swords. But he was too late, and I was already inside his guard. Leaning into the blow, I buried the black blade hilt-deep in the mantis’ chest.

You have killed Yunga.

Metal whistled through the air. Recognizing the sound, I released my hold on ebonheart and threw myself to the side.

You have evaded an unknown hostile’s attack.

I rolled back to my feet to see a mantis standing in the open doorway, the blowpipe in his mouth tracking my movements. A second dart hissed out.

I sidestepped, and the projectile thudded into the wall behind me. Backing away, I drew psi.

The mantis spat out a third dart. Ducking beneath the projectile, I kept casting. A fourth missile followed in its wake, then a fifth. I dodged both easily enough.

Either running out of darts or realizing he was not about to disrupt my concentration, the assassin threw aside his blowpipe and drew his swords. But before he could take more than two steps toward me, my spell completed, and strands of psi seeped into the mantis’ mind, inciting his fear centers to a fever pitch.

Biscux has failed a mental resistance check! You have terrified your target for 10 seconds.

Grinning at my success, I ignored the assassin, struck dumb by fear, and went to retrieve my sword. At my movement, Biscux’s eyes widened, and jerking into motion, he bolted from the room. Chuckling, I pulled ebonheart free of the body.

My humor was short-lived, though. The fight had not gone unnoticed, and more assassins were converging on my location.

Sighing, I blinked out—and back into the room below.

~~~

The dwarf was still sleeping, and the door, still locked.

Shaking my head ruefully—how could anyone sleep through the ruckus?—I placed my ear against the door and listened intently.

Mindsight and my senses reported the corridor beyond clear of both mantises and hunter eyes. By doubling back, I’d slipped free of my hunters’ net—for the time being, at least. Reaching down, I turned the key in the lock and pushed on the door.

The door opened with a soft snick, but no one came running to investigate. Slipping through, I shut the door behind me and padded down the corridor, making for the same room where I’d entered the building.

I reached the chamber in question without incident, a little surprised to find it empty. Creeping to the window, I checked the surroundings with mindsight.

There were no hostiles in range, neither on this floor nor the one below. Hmm…

It beggared belief that the mantises had left this exit completely unguarded. Some of the assassins had to be hiding nearby—watching and waiting.

The question, though, was how many?

There was no way to tell, but I couldn’t stay in the building. It was quickly turning into a death trap. Coming to a decision, I ducked through the window.

The drop to the ground floor was short, and with two-step breaking my fall, I landed softly.

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

Zeeran has detected you. You are no longer hidden!

A presence appeared where none had been before.

Somehow, despite the bright sunlight, the mantis had been hiding in plain sight beneath the window, and I had the misfortune—or perhaps it was good fortune?—to land nearly atop him.

Having already anticipated an ambush of sorts, I whirled about, blade poised to strike. At the same time, my foe rose from his crouch, setting a blowpipe to his lips. But less prepared than I was, he was a fraction slower, and before he could release his dart, I rammed ebonheart through his throat.

You have killed Zeeran with a fatal blow.

The mantis, though, was not alone.

At his death, six more assassins materialized on the street, and without fuss or hesitation, three of them raised their blowpipes and fired.

Dropping to the floor, I rolled away.

You have evaded 3 unknown hostiles’ attacks.

The darts passed me harmlessly by to clatter against the cobblestone street. Regaining my feet, I saw the other three mantises rushing in.

The first sent his sword darting forward. Swaying back, I fended off the searching blade with ebonheart.

The next struck at me from the left flank. Ducking beneath the blow, I countered with a vicious swipe at my foe’s ankles. He was equal to the challenge and jumped over the soulbound blade.

The third assassin, sneaking up from behind, struck down at me with the pommel of his sword. I couldn’t avoid the blow entirely but shifted far enough away that it landed on my shoulder and not my head.

Realizing how precarious my situation was and knowing I couldn’t stay caught betwixt the trio, I let go of ebonheart and backflipped out of reach. In the process, I narrowly avoided the careful strikes of the other two swordsmen.

I was given no chance to recover, though.

Seeing me separated from the melee fighters, the other three mantises grasped the opportunity to attack. Warned by the quiet hissing of their flight, I dodged the three incoming darts a heartbeat before they could pin me.

This isn’t going so well, I thought, lurching back another step.

I was outmatched and outnumbered, and I knew, without a doubt, the only reason I was still alive was that the mantises were trying to capture—not kill.

And it was only a matter of time before they succeeded.

Breathing heavily, I turned about and fled up the street, my ears straining to pick out the telltale sound of incoming darts.

But the danger, when it emerged, appeared from ahead, not behind.

I had taken barely a dozen steps before two mantises rounded the corner of the building I was making for. I didn’t stop. Hurtling towards the pair, I summoned psi, and shadow blinked the moment they were in range.

An unknown entity has trigger-cast repelling field.

You have failed a magical resistance check! Your spell has been disrupted.

With an abruptness that left me reeling, I was flung out of the aether, many yards short of my target. That’s new, I thought inanely.

My thoughts scattered, and my senses dazed, I barely glimpsed the inbound projectile. Jerking back, I evaded the missile and pivoted in a quick circle.

Mantises were flooding into both ends of the street. I was trapped again.

And this time, I feared there would be no escaping.

Damnation. Another dart whistled through the air on a direct course for my neck, but I stepped aside, evading it easily.

A third flew in from the opposite direction, and again I ducked out of the way. Resetting my stance, I swept my gaze across my foes.

More mantises were raising blowpipes to their lips, and no matter how well I dodged, I knew sooner or later, one would strike me.

There’s only one option left.

Keeping a wary eye on the dart throwers, I picked out the closest group of mantises and cast mass charm.

You have charmed 1 of 4 targets for 10 seconds.

The spell barely succeeded, but one charmed foe was all I needed.

Ducking and weaving the ongoing and sporadic dart-fire, I ran to the bespelled mantis. The other three nearby assassins backed away, but my minion remained fixed in place, placidly watching me.

I was six feet from my minion when I gave him the order to attack. The green-clad assassin drew his blade. The other mantises turned upon him, swords and blowpipes raised defensively.

They were not my minion’s target, though. I was.

In a rush, I closed the distance, and obedient to my will, my minion thrust out his blade.

I ran straight onto it.

The gleaming steel buried itself in my chest, piercing skin, bone, and heart with ease. Gurgling blood, I sagged listlessly.

Death was only moments away. Still, a bloody grin caressed my face. I’d made no attempt to avoid the attack, of course. Faced with the choice of capture or death, the decision had been easy. All that mattered now was that I made it to the Nexus safe zone.

Closing my eyes, I let blackness claim me.

You have died.