Guild Of Zeroes

Chapter 10

"If there's a running away piece to our plan," said Mouse. "Now would be the time to use it, don't you think?"

I reached for another arrow and drew it back, shooting another peasant through the right eye. The villager collapsed and I shot again, skewering another villager through the chest. This one didn't quit. Breath rattling like a dying man, the farmer lifted a scythe. Quin hammered their axe through the undead peasant's neck before he could bring the scythe down on us.

"It's called a fighting retreat, Mouse," said Quin. "Sounds better that way."

Mouse flinched as a crossbow bolt buried itself in the wall next to his head. He stared at the quivering bolt, eyes wide as buckets. "Can we fighting retreat the hell out of here then?"

I slipped the bow back into it's quiver and took up my sword. Things were too close for the bow and about to get messy. I scrambled to deflect an avalanche of blows from a chipped and rusted. The battered blade slammed into my guard and sent a painful shock ringing all the way to my elbow. I faltered and my blade slid out of position. My breath hitched in my throat and my heart fluttered as the world moved forward in slow motion. The undead man moved like he was swimming through honey, drawing the blade back for another strike, stepping into the blow, swinging the sword for my throat. I wouldn't stop it in time.

I was going to die.

A length of pale, ash wood slipped over my shoulder and caught the blow. Wood and steel clashed with a sharp snap. I slipped under the tangle of weapons and stuck low. The heavy sword sliced through the corpse's leg like an axe splitting dry kindling. He fell but there was no time to finish the job. A forest of weapons, rusted tools, and rotten sticks bristled towards us from a press of newly dead villagers, half rotten, shambling bodies, and corpses so old they were little more than desiccated flesh stretched over rattling frames of bone. Quin's axe crashed into the fray and blasted through the head of an eyeless horror that was all leathery skin and broken teeth. The corpse's head came apart in a cloud of dust.

"Back!" Quin shouted above the din of battle.

I turned to run, my legs were water and a lightning bolt of fear danced up and down my spine.

Quin caught my shoulder. "Back, but don't run." They took one step backwards, still deflecting blows as they went.

I separated a hand from a wrist, opened a throat and took my own step backwards.

"They're getting behind us!" shouted Mouse.

His hand fell on my shoulder and suddenly I knew to shift to my right and strike down, cleaving another arm nearly in two. Mouse's magic flowed through us and like we were escaping the party from hell, we pushed into the enemy lines. The only way out was straight through the middle. Bolstered by our little wizard, we tore through the undead like a thunderstorm. Quin was untouchable. The axe flashed like lightning, landing deathblow after deathblow. I parried high and rolled my wrist, twisting a sword out of my enemies hand. I could see the next three steps ahead and blocked a blow arcing down from my left. Spinning, I circled behind a farmer menacing Mouse with a hoe and snicked the farmer's head from his shoulders. Mouse stepped forward a jabbed one of the mumfied monsters in the stomach. It doubled over and I snarled, driving a boot into its teeth, bone shattered and Quin finished the job, driving the axe down through the top of it's head. The weapon stuck and Quin let it drop, ducking and dodging a tempest of strikes and slashes. Mouse and I came to their rescue, stepping past the horrors crowding around us as easily as if we were slipping across the dancefloor. I blocked high, parried low, struck. Something fell. There was no time to check if the corpse was dead or not, I was already moving, already another four steps ahead of the action. I had all the time in the world now. I ducked and came up swinging, taking a head clean off a pair of shoulders. Spinning, I slipped past a thrust and swung into an axe strike, redirecting the weapon. I only had to buy a few seconds. A sword down at me, it wouldn't kill me. Couldn't cut my armour. I stepped into the strike and caught it on my shoulder, gritting my teeth against the blunt red shock of impact. Another slash whistled towards me. It was going to miss. I didn't move. The corpse stumbled, and right on queue Quin filled the gap and ran it through with a sword. Mouse cleared a path through the corpses, swinging their staff in a series of wide strikes, shattering sword arms and breaking kneecaps with every strike.