“What compass direction is that?” I asked the Gray Master, pointing at the rear exit.

  “South.” He said, “-ish,” he added.

  “Okay, team,” I stated loudly to reach all the assembled thieves and Special Service members. “We will have undead coming at us from the south,” and I pointed to the tunnel before us, “and the west.” I pointed to our right. “And odds are they will come at us from all four directions before we are done. Archers, prepare to lay down cover fire on my signal. Mages, AOE spells are your first priority. Save your casting points and make your shots count. We may be at this for a while.”

  I turned to the archers. “One each per tunnel. One warrior join them. Get in position.”

  “Gwydion!” Adriana shouted.

  The first undead entered from the south tunnel.

  “Archers south, fire one!”

  We had four archers with us, but there were guards with bows as well, so we shared two quivers of rune arrows with each. But even taking into account the eight archers and the 40 arrows that two quivers would hold, that was 320 arrows against 10,000 undead. Even if we took out ten with every shot, which was unlikely even with our explosive runes, we would be out of ammo long before the undead were depleted.

  Adric and one of the guards both fired. Adric hit his target square in the chest while the warrior missed. But our plan to use exploding arrows paid off. Both exploded, and the entire front rank of undead, perhaps a dozen strong, blew apart in dust and debris thanks to the two exploding arrows.

  The thieves cheered.

  But the guards remained composed. They had already done the same math I had done and knew that the short game was ours, but the long game was very uncertain.

  “Gwydion, west!” Wilma shouted.

  “Teams, fire at will. Conserve your shots. Let stragglers through for the warriors and thieves to fight. Make your shots count and take out groups when possible!”

  There followed the sound of arrows twanging, and explosions soon followed.

  It did appear that we held the upper hand. For now.

  The throne was on a high rock with sheer climbs all around it, except for the long, windy ramp. The undead would need to climb to reach us, but at only fourteen feet or so, it was not that highly protected.

  A couple of minutes into our fight, the east tunnel erupted with undead, and those archers soon joined in with explosive arrows.

  Not many undead made it through the first ranks of explosions, but there were so many of them that even a few here and there started to add up.

  Wizards roamed the edges and used Scorching Light as AOE when needed, but held off and let the elementalists take individual or small AOE attacks first. “Protect the archers and thieves from getting overrun!” I shouted.

  We had things well in hand until the ghouls showed up with their own bows and spears.

  “That is just messed up!” The Gray Master yelled.

  Several of the thieves up front, as well as one of the wizards, were hit.

  Everyone on our team had magical armor up, but the thieves did not. The clerics were healing where needed, but their powers would be better suited to fighting the undead.

  One of the clerics moved away from her group to heal an injured thief, and several shadows swooped in and attacked those unprotected when the Holy Light moved off of them. Fortunately, it was near me, and I used one of the diamonds in my bracer to fire up a Holy Light spell.

  “Stick to your regions!” Biff shouted just as I vaporized the three shadows who had snuck in the accidental gap. “We have thousands of these undead to face. We cannot lose forces like they can.” He turned to me and said, “Nice cover fire, Gwyd.”

  And so it went on. And on.

  No undead came at us from the way we entered from the north, but they poured through the other three tunnels. Finally, the archers to the south yelled, “Last arrows!”

  I looked at the north team, who kept a sharp eye out in that direction.

  There’s no helping it, I thought. “North team, one to the south, the other stay where you are.”

  The college student archer moved to the south while the soldier remained. The kids may not be great warriors, but they were hands down our best archers.

  “Remind me to ask our summoners to create Shallot’s Chest spells and fill them with quivers of rune arrows,” I said to Biff.

  “Good idea.” He said. “Wish you had it yesterday.”

  I smiled fiercely at him and began to wander around the top of the throne platform, encouraging the team members and the thieves who were especially terrified.

  I noted that a few of the thieves had slings, and they used them effectively as stragglers got near.

  I made it back over to Biff. “Do we have any rune sling stones?” I asked.

  “Yes, I had the clerics each grab a couple of bags as we left. They were the best at slings on the team.”

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  “Break them out and hand them to some of the thieves. Give brief instructions, but let them join in. We need the clerics for other duties than slings right now.”

  He nodded and departed.

  Soon, there were some more explosions, adding to the overall chaos in the room and periodic cheering from some of the thieves.

  Biff walked back over to me. “Good call. I spaced the thieves with slings out before the three active tunnels. But when those stones run out, we will get mobbed.” He said.

  “We still have a few surprises left,” I said.

  “When should I release the powerful elementals?” The Gray Master asked. He had also been wandering the platform, giving praise and encouragement to his people and mine with equal and charismatic effect.

  I thought about it and looked at the teams. The fighters to the south were the most damaged and tired because the heaviest attacks had come from there.

  “The next round of ghouls that hits us, send your fire elemental to get rid of as many as it can down the tunnel for as long as it is able. That will give those people a breather and rid us of the threat that the ghouls present.

  A little less than three minutes later, another large ghoul attack came from the south once more. The Gray Master raised his ring high and shouted, “Destroy the undead!” He willed the Fifth Element fire elemental located in the 35pt topaz to surge into the ranks of ghouls and then beyond into the tunnel.

  “How many will it take out, do you think?” He asked me as I walked over to stand beside him.

  “It’s hard to tell. I’d guess a couple hundred, at least. But we don’t know what else is waiting out there. If they are zombies and walking corpses, it could double that tally because they are very flammable, and in tight quarters, they could catch each other on fire and spread it for quite a ways. But if they are skeletons, then maybe half that number. It’s hard to know.”

  He nodded. “Any ideas about the other elementals?” He asked me.

  “The earth elemental is easy. It will roll through and crush the undead. Maybe hold that in reserve in case you need an escape route. The water and air elementals might be better used to force a mob of undead back when they come at us in large numbers at the platform.”

  “Good ideas.” He moved back around the platform again, encouraging his people.

  He was a thief. But there was something about the man I admired.

  He likes you, too. Bella said.

  I jumped at her words. I had been so focused on the attacks that I had not heard from her.

  I had nothing new to report and did not want to distract you. Just remember that you are not alone. She said and was silent once more.

  Biff came by and said, “We are nearly out of exploding arrows and stones.”

  I saw that the warrior still stood watch over the north passage. I was beginning to get worried why we were not getting attacked from that direction, and said as much to Biff.

  “Why ask for trouble? Be thankful for little blessings. Maybe we should try to retreat down there and get topside.” He suggested.

  “Or maybe that is what the necromancer wants and is just the trap he has been holding back for us,” I added.

  The Gray Master, who had returned to hear the discussion, said, “You are too young to have such a suspicious mind.”

  “You think we should try to leave?” I asked him.

  “Oh, no. I think it is a trap as well. I was just commenting that you were too young to be so suspicious.”

  “Always with the joke,” I said, smiling so he knew I appreciated it.

  “It’s what I do.” He replied in a way that reminded me of someone else.

  “What’s our next plan, Gwyd?” Biff asked again, a bit more urgently.

  “Distribute the two quivers from the north to the two best archers. Let them roam and use their arrows in whatever tunnels need it the most. We will need to fall back on some more magical attacks, and as tired as folks are looking, I think we will buy a little more time.”

  “Adriana, here please!” I called.

  She was at my side in seconds. “We need a breather,” I said.

  “My thoughts as well. How about we send three minor fire elementals down each of the three tunnels in the same spirit as the Gray Master had done earlier?”

  “You like fire?” I asked.

  She thought about it. “Actually, fire down east and west and earth down the south.”

  “I agree. Make it happen. Then work on setting up teams so they will fire off elementals on your command. Save a couple of personal big ones for later.”

  She departed to make that happen.

  “Why are the earth elementals down my passage?” The Gray Master asked.

  I looked at Biff, who had direct experience topside with me. He answered, “You would have burnt up the ones that were flammable, but crushing attacks work better on skeletons. If we stagger fire then earth, we can maximize damage on the creatures that are affected the most by each.”

  “Exactly,” I said.

  “I’ll be sending along some more surprises in a bit, but we are playing for time, and our people need the rest.

  In less than a minute, the first elementals shot forward under Adriana’s direction. A minute after that, all was silent.

  “Take a breather, people. But keep an eye out. Wizards, you cover the tunnels and send off your strongest Wizard Blast as soon as the first undead appear.”

  Biff stood beside me. “Do you have any more Twister spells?” He asked, thinking back to Barricade Park.

  “Two. The Bishop gave me advice to skip diversity in my spells and go for power. He must have seen this happening, or just foresaw the need against the goblins. I still have a bunch of neat little adventuring SUS rings in my bag, but I am toting firepower today on the staff.”

  We got a couple more minutes of rest than I had expected before the first, and then the other two wizards fired off their Wizard Blast spells.

  But in that time, Adriana and the elementalists had worked up a plan. They allowed a group of undead to surge forward and then sent a powerful Fire Blast spell at them, followed immediately by an Air Blast. You would think that the air blast would have put out the fire, but just the opposite happened. Just like blowing on the hot coals of a campfire, the Air Blast not only knocked back the undead, but it doubled the effect of the fire in a white hot exchange that lit up the whole cavern from the three tunnel entrances.

  The next delay was not as long as the elementals had given us, but it was a little bit before more undead came at us.

  But they seemed to be unending.

  “Gray Master,” I said as he turned toward me. “What are the three tunnels like? Are they straight or curvy?”

  “Each goes straight for thirty yards before branching off and turning into other passages and rooms.” He replied.

  “Ninety feet straight then?”

  “Roughly, yes.” He said.

  Adriana had come back to me. “We will pull that attack for a while, but we will need another plan. If they come in large numbers, the spells are just not powerful enough.”

  “I have two Tornado and two Inferno spells,” I said.

  Her eyes got big. “That will work, too.”

  Will Inferno and Tornado magnify each other like you did?” I asked.

  She thought about it. “I don’t think so. A tornado swirls the air around, and while half would increase and feed the flames, the other half would pull the air away. I think they are best as sole spells. There is a spell I have heard of called Pyrogenetic Revenge that is a cross between a firestorm and a Tornado, but I don’t suppose you have that one?” She asked, hopefully.

  I shook my head no. “But I can send Inferno off, and its range will encompass the entire straight tunnel for a hundred feet. But I need to keep a line of sight of the Tornado or I will lose control of it.”

  “What happens then?” The Gray Master asked.

  “It either fizzles and drops, or it gains strength and does what it wants.”

  “Can you regain control of it once you lose it?” He asked.

  “No,” I replied.

  “Oh. Then maybe keep that one in reserve for their rush.”

  “How long does Inferno last?” Adriana asked. It was a Seventh Element spell and well beyond her ability to cast.

  “Down here, where there is nothing to burn but stone? It will rush out and turn to ash most anything it encounters and then be a strong hundred-foot-long, ten-foot-wide, and ten-foot-high wall of fire for about a half hour.”

  The Gray Master grew jubilant. “That buys us a lot of time.”

  “It will also begin to melt some of the stone and could cause a cave-in in depending on how well the tunnels were constructed and how much stone supports them.

  “That would be less desirable.” He admitted.

  “Here they come again!” Biff yelled.

  True to her word, Adriana’s elementalists fired off another couple of rounds of their trick spell effects. But the undead were massing together so tightly that the spells were losing their potency, and larger numbers of skeletons were making their way to the front. Fire, even hot fire, had less impact on skeletons, but they were still falling. Just not as fast, which meant they gained ground slowly.

  “It’s time,” I said.