Dungeon Sniper

Four-hundred Boom-Booms.

That was the number of explosives Illisiv, Lapines, and Dumont came back with to the camp. Illisiv was steering two over-loaded horses at the same time while Dumont drove the cargo carriage.

They arrived two hours later than the promised time, but it was understandable, seeing the amount of explosives they had.

Everyone gathered at the campfire ground. No one said anything for a while. Even the riders, exhausted from the journey, lingered on horseback, feeling overwhelmed.

"Did you rob the Dwarves or something?" said Worra finally, frowning at the ridiculous amount of the mining-purpose explosives.

"They were busy building a new pub. They had some to spare," said Illisiv, gingerly getting off horseback.

"You don't call that 'some.' That's enough to make a hill disappear overnight," gaped Janon.

"Or a castle. Good job, you guys," I said, my Explosive Expertise Skill appraising the maximum damage capability of the four-hundred Boom-Booms going off at once.

I figured not just a castle, but the entire artificial island of Delatris Complex could sink to the bottom of the riverbed.

"Didn't the Dwarves ask what the Boom-Booms were going to be used for?" asked Elysia thoughtfully.

"No, they were too busy with the construction. And angry. They didn't look nice," said Lapines, turning her petite face toward me apprehensively.

"But nice enough to gift us a mountain load of Boom-Booms, right?"

Lapines did not smile back, eyeing me with pity now.

"There's something else you have to know," said Illisiv, looking pale and hesitant, at me.

"Speak to the crowd, Siv. Or did you forget Kevlon is your new leader now?"

"No. This concerns you, Beta, for the most part, at least."

I stared back at the youthful face of Illisiv, who sighed and continued.

"The Dwarves have put on a bounty. On a certain Human responsible for the killing of forty Dwarves three nights ago."

"Oh."

"There was a witness, a lone survivor who escaped the explosion."

I remembered a shifty Dwarf who got out of the pub to check on the four dead bodies left at one of the huts. He never came back to the pub.

"He described this... crazy Human, dressed in rags and holding a bow, with disturbing eyes—"

"In other words, they know what you look like, Human," spat Dumont.

"And they want their revenge," concluded Illisiv.

"All right, then. Thanks for letting me know," I shrugged casually. I expected some kind of follow-up after the Minetown incident. It was not pleasant to have a hundred angry Dwarves ready to pickaxe me to death, but I kind of had that coming, so.

The Runnels, however, looked grim.

"What's wrong?"

"Don't you see? They didn't just hand out the Boom-Booms because they felt charitable. Those are payments for our service. They want the Runnels to catch the 'crazy Human' loose in the Delta Region," Elysia clicked her tongue irritably.

"I mean, it is kind of our 'job' to maintain order around here," agreed Janon.

"Wait. What's going on here? You're not seriously going to arrest me, are you?"

"Not yet," said Worra coldly, "we've got a more pressing job at hand."

"You mean never. Never yet."

"We'll see."

"That hurts, Worra, and we just had our first magical picnic. We even exchanged little poems together."

"He's lying. There was no poem," said Worra, frowning threateningly.

"Relax, Beta. Everyone. We're not turning you over to the Dwarves. You're one of us now," said Kevlon.

"Yeah, right. If he's still alive by the daybreak, that is," smirked Dumont.

"That's not a nice thing to say, Dumont," reprimanded Lapines.

"You make jokes like that all the time!" erupted Dumont.

"Yes, but only when you're the one being made fun of."

Dumont looked as if he wanted to light up the Boom-Booms just then.

"All right, settle down. We've got the Boom-Booms, but we're still outnumbered and disadvantaged against a city full of armed, trained guards."

"I can take them all," growled Baraka confidently.

"Same here," grinned Dumont savagely, "but first, I'm going after that rat Ramsis."

Furtive glances darted to Elysia's way, who maintained her calm—at an icy cold temperature.

"The targets are the members of the Council and their abettors. The civilians, both Elves and Humans, shall not be harmed in any and all circ.u.mstances," said Kevlon.

"So Ramsis—"

"Yes, Dumont, he's one of the targets," snapped Kevlon.

"Dumont, you big boar," Lapines shook her head.

"What?"

Everyone but Dumont threw another pitiful glance at Elysia, until she could not keep her cool any longer.

"Let me make this clear. I encourage all of you to kill the traitor on sight. No mercy, no excuse, no memory. And I hope I'm the one who finds him first. Everyone understand that?"

"Eylsia, you don't have to force yourself—"

"Shut up, Janon. Everyone," Elysia looked around sharply, daring anyone to speak further in the matter.

Kevlon waited prudently for a few seconds before moving on.

"We talked, and here's the final plan. Beta and Janon will be setting up the Boom-Booms, while Worra and Lapines—"

.

.

.

I was crawling under the Deltaris Complex with Janon and Elysia. Worra and Lapines helped us smuggle the four-hundred Boom-Booms safely along the river and at a secluded river edge on the Deltaris Complex. Worra and Lapines went their ways to take care of approaching guards in their respective positions while I started to tunnel my way through the artificial island.

Both Elysia and Janon never worked with Boom-Booms before. Janon was knowledgeable with the Boom-Booms in theory, but he was no expert. He did, however, learn quickly of the mechanics and my plan to maximize the damage.

We had disassembled the Boom-Boom cases and been littering the powder throughout the intertwined tunnels underneath the floating island. Basically, I was turning the underground tunnels I had built through Burrower Skill as one long, interconnected powder chamber. That way, the shockwave from the explosion would be sent uniformly on all grounds. Two-hundred Boom-Booms were taken apart and made into one explosive snake curled beneath the Deltaris Complex.

But there was more.

It was something called the 'shovel-head effect,' and it was used to direct the explosive force to a single, designated point. All one had to do was to create a caved-in space in the shape of a cone where the narrow point would serve as the focal point of explosion. The particular Dwarf that had granted me the Explosive Expertise Skill had used the effect to create a hole on the wall with the minimal amount of Boom-Booms at hand.

This was my final plan. The 'snake powder chamber' would shake the ground, but it would not be enough to make the buildings on the surface crumble into nothing. That was where the 'shovel-head' came in: I could not make the entire island flip up-side-down, but I could at least make it seesaw to one side by creating this huge shovel-head on 'one' side of the island. A hundred-ninety Boom-Booms would be packed inside a pointy, cone-shaped hole.

I would then take the remaining ten and plant it inside Castle Deltaris. Worra and Lapines had already taken three each and hidden them near the castle ground. With just ten Boom-Booms, the castle would have to fall completely, symbolically, and spectacularly.

The whole operation took about three hours. Janon and I got out of the tunnel where Elysia was waiting. I sealed the exit with just enough opening for Janon to throw a fire stick for ignition.

"Remember. The snake chamber goes off first. And then the shovel-head."

I pointed and Janon followed my finger to the large cone-shaped cave of about twenty feet with a hundred-ninety Boom-Booms clogged at the endpoint.

"And the signal?" asked Janon worriedly.

"You won't miss it."

The signal would be the sound of explosion above, felling Castle Deltaris.

Janon nodded and looked around the surroundings nervously for the twelfth time in the past few hours.

"What if we run into a guard?"

"Elysia will take care of him for you."

"What if there's more than one guard?"

"Elysia will take care of them for you. You obviously haven't seen what she can do with her dagger."

"Not now, Beta."

"What?"

"You were going to make a comment about that one time I cut your hand, and how ... 'weird' it was."

"You mean 'kinky?'"

"Just, shut up."

"I would, but since you brought it up, it was pretty weird for you too then? So you weren't lying when you said it turned you on—"

"Janon, would you like a demonstration of what I can do with my dagger, on Beta's face, for example?"

"I'm so nervous, and you're joking as if what we're doing is nothing," croaked the sweaty Elfino.

"This is his first time out in the field," said Elysia sympathetically.

"And you're doing great, buddy. Just remember, throw, ignite, and run. Or you can always pass the torch to Elysia."

"No, I can do it," said Janon, his intellectual curiosity edging out against his nervousness.

"Great. Just so you know, Worra and Lapines are doing their best to keep the guards from approaching here. And I'm joining them too, so you're perfectly safe," I said assuredly, taking out my longbow and lifting the black scowl to cover my face.

"One last thing. After you ignite the ones at the shovel-head, don't look back and jump into the river. Understand?"

"Got it," said Janon.

"Elysia, you're beautiful, but I don't think a bald spot on the backhead will look good even on you."

"Are you sure you don't want me coming with you?" said Elysia, bypassing the joke completely.

"No, stay here. Please."

Elysia did not seem satisfied, but she did not press on the matter.

"See you in the morning, guys."

"For Alstair," said Janon abruptly. I stopped, turned back and nodded emphatically.

"For Alstair."

My eyes met Elysia's. She knew I was distancing her away from Castle Deltaris as far as possible, as much as possible. And as a sharp Elfina she was, she understood why.

I did not want her to meet Ramsis, face-to-face.

I climbed the island ridge away from the edge of the river below. Lapines had been kind to show me the best route from the bottom to the complex as she led us to the perfect spot to plant our bombs.

"You sure you can memorize the exact protrusions to grab for?" Lapines had asked, directing me which crevices and rocks to grab onto for the fifteen-foot climb.

"I don't know, I'm usually used to grabbing things a lot softer and warm," I had said, wriggling my hand playfully mid-climbing.

"The Dwarves were right. You do have disturbing eyes," Lapines had said, covering her c.h.e.s.t area, to my defense had not much to look at. Lapines was cute, but she seemed like a teenager to my eyes.

"This may not be the best time to ask personal questions, but how old are you, Nessy?"

"Eighty."

"Of course. Pardon me, grandma."

"You are aware that we Elves age differently than Humans, right?"

"How differently?"

"We appreciate things more slowly. We think deep, with time, and we enjoy our time spent out in nature—"

"Yes, like old people. I get it."

"I'm just saying, Humans always rush into things and they're missing a lot in their lives."

"Change 'Humans' with 'younger people today,' and you would sound just like a grandmother."

"What does she sound like, really?"

"Who?

"Your grandmother."

I had almost fallen then, my grip loosening suddenly at the unexpected question.

"I wouldn't know. I never had one."

Lapines was too prudent not to press on the matter. She had parted ways, promising to keep the guards away from the operation site below, leaving me to climb down the ridge silently, shaking my head to keep focused with work at hand.

Three hours later and having memorized the exact cracks and rocks through Vivid Memory, I was back on the complex ground level again with four Boom-Booms tied to my waist awkwardly. With the Boom-Booms dangling and hitting each other safely, I ran along the shadows of the complex ground.

I did not ask what Worra and Lapines meant by keeping the ground clean for infiltration. Whatever it was, it could not be worse than death, right?

And soon enough, I passed by the fallen bodies of the guards, not exactly dead but unconscious. That was Lapines's job, and I could see that their hands or legs were twisted in unnatural angles. Worra's jobs were more obvious. Arrows were sticking out of the three bodies lying on the ground, snoring peacefully. Tranquilizer, perhaps? I could picture Kevlon excitedly concocting what he thought was going to be an energizing draught but turned out to be a potent sleep inducer. On the brighter side, the guards would wake up next morning feeling better than ever. At least they did not have to drink the thing and suffer the taste.

I was walking along the edge of the complex ground, avoiding the possible watches patrolling the area. Except that the ground was clear. Too clear, even with the excellent jobs by Worra and Lapines.

The bush in front of me rustled and I stopped and drew Elvis the Elven dagger reflexively.

It was Lapines, with her delicate finger placed on her cute little lips, mouthing the word 'shh.'

"The 'distraction' is working. There are still guards at the entrance. Follow me," whispered Lapines.

The 'distraction' referred to the commotion caused by the rest of the Runnels away from the Deltaris Complex. Illisiv and Kevlon were to ride around the night streets of Deltaris, waking up everyone while deliberately being chased by the guards. The eager and strong duo Baraka and Dumont, then, would pop out of every alley and fell the chasing guards, taunting and drawing them deeper and farther away from the Deltaris Complex. The objective was to divert the attention of every citizen as well as the number of guards keeping post around Castle Deltaris. Illisiv was basically uncatchable while on a horse, as every Runnel member agreed, and Kevlon littered his failed, large cache of potions that, he admitted, would be quite inflammable and toxic once combined all together and serve as a hindrance for the chasing guards. Baraka just wanted to fight, albeit solemnly in the name of avenging Alstair, while Dumont viciously called for the traitor's name to come out to face him.

All in all, a good scene.

Lapines and I walked over to the far edge of the ground, where she and Worra left the six Boom-Booms. I dropped the four I carried and stared down at the meager amount of explosives that just might work.

"Where's Worra? Are we here early?" I asked, looking around at the promised rendezvous. Lapines pointed toward a general upward direction. Worra could be anywhere, high enough to keep watch on us as well as any approaching danger.

"I don't like it," said Lapines.

"Yeah, well, we didn't specify the exact time. She's running a little late, that's all."

"No. I meant the whole situation. It's too quiet. Too easy."

She was right. The lack of guards guarding the place and the general peaceful atmosphere in the area. It certainly did not seem as if Oren was expecting us. And I was baited once already. I was not going to be fooled twice.

"Tell me, Lapines. Would you have expected to have three-hundred-ninety explosives resting under your feet in the middle of the night? Any night?"

"... No," answered Lapines uncertainly.

"See? Only a maniac would come up with a plan like that. And who have you got? Me. I'm the maniac!"

"With disturbing eyes," nodded Lapines innocently.

"Disturbingly s.e.xy, you mean. Anyway, this time, it's my plan. Our plan. Not some plan fed to us by a traitor and a coward who would rather suffer than to see a change."

"Well, if you put it that way—"

Worra slid down from the nearest roof gracefully, which had the effect of seemingly springing out of nowhere and making both Lapines and me jump.

"I found him," said Worra, no apology or anything.

"How did you—where did you come from?"

"I saw him too. Top floor, attending the Dark Meeting," said Lapines, who recovered faster than I did.

"Who are you talking about?" I asked, fl.u.s.tered.

"Ramsis."

"Oren."

Worra and Lapines exchanged glances, but did not dispute over their simultaneously differing answers.

Good, we found the targets. My mind began to race. Oren was the primary target, of course. But Ramsis, his presence and existence carried a meaning. The Runnels were hurt and disgraced. I was hurt, physically more than emotionally, and disgusted, so, yes, he meant something to me too. There was a chance that Ramsis, an able scout-ranger from all the accounts I had been told, would get in the way of eliminating Oren and the Council.

"Ramsis first, I think," I said to the two beautiful, fatal Elfinas before me. Both nodded in agreement, tensing a little before a crucial battle.

"I have to plant the Boom-Booms inside the castle, so you girls get to have all the fun. Here's the plan. Lapines, draw out the rest of the guards. Don't get caught."

"I can't even imagine what being caught is like."

"Well, maybe that's because you're an Elf—"

"What do you want me to do, Beta?" Worra cut me off, c.o.c.king her head at me impatiently.

"What you do best. Eye in the sky. Cover for Lapines. And when you spot Ramsis, try to draw him outside as well. Far away from Oren and the Council."

"Wouldn't it be better to detonate the castle and let the targets crush and suffocate to death?" asked Lapines.

We had gone over this. But we could not risk the chances that they might live. It was best to be sure, and sure meant getting the actual blood on our hands.

"I know you don't want to kill anyone, Lapines. Don't worry. Worra will do it for you, happily and with p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e. No offense, Rara, you're not a monster. Just a gifted, elegant killer."

"Who's Rara?" frowned Worra.

"Fine. How long do you need to keep the mock chase going on?" Lapines sighed, having made up her mind finally.

"Fifteen, no, ten minutes. Tops," I stared down at the ten Boom-Booms, exactly twice as many I had had with me when I blew up a Dwarven pub.

"We can do that," Worra and Lapines nodded at each other. Despite the matching gray outfit, they did not look like sisters, each uniquely beautiful in their own ways, but I could see in their eyes that they had the common goal.

Revenge. Justice. Correction. Different names, but same direction.

One outcome.

"How do we know when you're done setting up the bombs?" asked Worra as she shot a grappling arrow to the rooftop. A thing of total badassery.

"Oh, you'll know."

In fact, the entire city would know.

"And do we know who's going to end, you know, Ramsis's life?" asked Lapins cautiously.

Both Elfinas seemed hesitant. After all, Ramsis, the traitor, had been one of them. A family, a friend, and a lover to one particular Elfina—

"I am."

—the one individual who was not supposed to be here.

I froze and turned to the voice behind me. The one thing I tried to prevent, but could not, was happening before my eyes.

"I told you to stay with Janon," I sighed, but I knew my words were not reaching her. Her cold eyes burned with want of vengeance, of blood.

"I'm the one ending his traitorous life, so think twice if you think you can stop me."

Elysia had already taken out her composite bow and held the sharp dagger on the other hand.

She meant every word.