Battle Spire by Michael R Miller

Author:Michael R Miller [Miller, Michael R]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Portal Books
Published: 2019-01-17T22:00:00+00:00

19

With Kreeptic’s hand at my throat, I was held firmly in place and I couldn’t get a word out in my defense.

“Someone has ransacked my chambers already,” Kreeptic said. “Many potions and poisons are missing.”

With a great effort, I managed to gasp, “Not… here to… steal.”

“That’s right,” Kreeptic said lovingly. “You are here to be caught. Dear boy, I train assassins in the shadowy arts. No scavenger could hope to outwit me.”

“Not… trying… to.”

“Don’t worry, Zoran,” Ellie said. “He’s harmless really.”

“Harmless?” My hands struggled uselessly against him.

“Whom do you speak to?” Kreeptic said, drawing the knife up against my cheek, the metal ice cold. “Please tell me you are mad. I should like to crack open your skull and study the ruins inside.”

He squeezed tighter at my throat and my health bar started ticking down.

“Not mad,” I struggled. “Spire. In danger.”

“What drivel is this?”

Ellie cut in. “Mention Highcross.”

Wishing I could ask her to explain, I took my best guess at her meaning.

“Enemies,” I wheezed. “Emperor – taken. Marshal Highcross sent me.”

“Highcross?” Kreeptic said, eyes widening. Evidently, the torturer feared the chief intelligence officer. “Why would he send a lowly scavenger to deliver such news?”

“Because everyone else is dead.”

Kreeptic let go of me. I gulped in air before descending into choked coughs, as pain throbbed in my neck.

“I shall discover the truth of this for myself,” Kreeptic said. In a puff of sour white smoke, he disappeared, vanishing as a result of some ability. I thought I heard footsteps in the corridor beyond, running at speed back the way I had come.

“Where’s he going?”

“He’s heading up to the throne room,” Ellie informed me.

“But what if he’s seen?” At once, I pulled out my map. To my horror, the three players Ellie had warned of had arrived on the ground floor. After the initial shock, I realized they were standing guard outside the armory, just as Azrael had warned. I felt a pang at the loss of such a bountiful resource. Still, so long as Kreeptic didn’t venture down that way, it wouldn’t be a total disaster.

“He’s a master of stealth,” Ellie said. “He’ll be fine.”

“They killed him before.”

“When he wasn’t expecting danger.”

“This is so weird,” I said. “A piece of you controls him, yet you don’t have any actual influence over his actions.”

“Not in my current state,” Ellie said glumly.

I rubbed at my neck, concerned that I’d lost a sanctuary. It would have been useful to pick up more slime, but I doubted Kreeptic would be all too happy with me pilfering from his cauldron.

“Let’s make use of our time while he’s gone,” Ellie said, in a cheerful tone. “You can pick your class specialization too.”

“Oh, fantastic,” I said, my voice lousy with sarcasm. “That’ll make me forget about everything. A nice spec choice.”

Inside, I was still quite excited to see what I had to choose from, but the stubborn side of me didn’t feel like admitting it to her.

Opening my character sheet, I saw there was a new tab helpfully labeled ‘Specialization’.

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