Phantasm

“Who’s Hitler?” Felicia asked as the distorted voice blared out across the main hall.

“He’s the… King of the country this floor is supposed to be,” I answered absently, looking about for enemies. “By most accounts, he was the most evil person there has ever been.”

We had gone up some stairs to get into the building. Now, past the open entrance hall, we could look over the main station and see that there were four train lines, each in its own trench, with built-up platforms for access on either side. The building stretched a long way, far enough to completely enclose the full length of a train.

“And… maybe?” I said to Borys. “I never listened to many of his speeches and they all had terrible sound quality. He’s supposed to be, I’ll bet. Goblin Hitler.”

Only one of the lines was occupied by a train. Most of the carriages were ordinary passenger carriers, but near the end, close to the engine, was an open flatbed with what looked a lot like an atomic bomb on it.

Borys had seen it as well. “This is too easy,” he said. “Where are the troops?”

Goblin Hitler continued his rant.

For years, we have pursued a vision—a vision of a weapon so powerful, so unimaginable, that it would bring our enemies to their knees with a single stroke.

I cursed as the realisation struck me. “It’s not easy at all,” I said. “He’s going to blow it when he reaches the end of his speech.”

Borys frowned. “So we have to rush the objective? Still pretty—oh.” He looked over at the path we would have to take. “Ambushes.”

I was looking at the train. Those passenger carriages looked empty, but goblins were so short, they didn’t come up to the windows. The cars could be filled with them, just waiting to jump up onto seats and attack us.

On the other hand, invisibility had worked pretty well, and Cloridan was still invisible.

“Cloridan,” I said, “get down to the end of the train and kill the goblin who’s giving the speech.”

That weapon, the culmination of our scientific genius, the fruit of our unyielding determination, is now in our hands. Our ‘Spezialwaffe,’ the atomic force that harnesses the very fabric of the universe, is ready to be unleashed!

“Why would Hitler be next to the bomb, if he’s going to set it off?” Felicia asked, not realising that Cloridan had already left.

“If he sets it off, he’s crazy,” I said. “Even crazier than history makes him out to be. And there’s nowhere safe for him to be.”

Unless he’s got a deep underground bunker somewhere, my brain pointed out. But… that’s impossible. Can’t go too deep without hitting the next level.

I started conjuring Phantasmal ponchos and clear riot shields. They’d stop a bullet, if only once.

“In case I’m wrong,” I said aloud. “We’re going to have to run the ambush.”

“Not a problem,” Sarge assured me. “Lemme at them Krauts.”

I looked at the others.

“Sure,” Borys said. “Never overlook a chance to get XP.”

“Plus, I don’t want to die in a giant fireball,” Kyle added.

It was my wish, and indeed my expectation, that this mighty power would be wielded on the battlefield to secure a decisive victory, to sweep away the foes of our beloved Fatherland and to carve out a future for the Reich that would endure for a thousand years.

Geared up, we rushed down the platform. The Kobolds took point, and Kyle and Borys flanked Felicia and me in the centre, shields held high. We didn’t have to wait long for the ambush.

The shield popped out instantly as six Nazi goblins popped up and started firing from the windows of the first train carriage. My poncho disappeared a moment after that.

You have taken 314 damage!

Goddam. The problem with machine guns is they fire lots of bullets. Borys was mostly fine—they couldn’t get past his defence, any more than they could penetrate Kyle’s heavy armour. Two of our kobold soldiers dropped, though.

We returned fire, of course, and the ambushers didn’t last long.

Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP

Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP

Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP

Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP

Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP

Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP

I was displeased to note that whatever the carriages were made from, it resisted bullets quite effectively

But alas, the treachery and cowardice of those who betray us from within have prevented this. They have sought to deny us our triumph, to steal our destiny from us.

“Maybe we should try moving up through the train?” I suggested.

“No,” Borys said, “Let’s try something different.”

He took a deep breath in. When he released it, it came out cold, and so did everything else.

A chill wind blew through the concourse, and the temperature only dropped from there. Ice started forming on every surface, and snow started swirling around, blocking vision.

But they shall not succeed! No, they shall never succeed! The Reich’s resolve is stronger than steel, and our vengeance will be swift and terrible! If we cannot bring this power to the front lines, then we shall bring the front lines to this power!

“Brr. That’s way too cold,” Felicia said. She looked at me. “Hold still long enough for me to heal you?”

I agreed. We then pushed forward, leaving the fallen kobolds where they fell. Sarge looked upset, but he didn’t say anything.

We raked the next carriage with fire, but it bounced off the metal walls. Some of the windows broke, but there weren’t any goblins behind them, yet.

Borys directed the storm in through the broken windows. People—goblins—started screaming.

The notifications came in thick and fast.

I didn’t think it was that cold. It must be colder when you’re at the other end.

This time, no goblins popped up when we passed. The speech kept going as we made our way up the platform.

And so, today, I have chosen Aachen—the birthplace of our proud heritage, the city that embodies the heart of our Reich—to be the stage upon which we shall demonstrate our might.

The next attack came from above. I hadn’t noticed there was a balcony up there, but Borys’s storm covered the entire area. They didn’t freeze up, but the accuracy of their fire was greatly reduced. We got bogged down in an exchange of fire, but then one of them decided to speed matters up by dropping a grenade.

Borys blew it back in their faces. We got eight notifications that time, and two more when the balcony collapsed.

In this very hour, I will order the detonation of this ultimate weapon at the Aachen Railway Station, not as an act of despair, but as a declaration! A declaration to the world that Germany does not surrender, that Germany does not bow!

We raked the next carriage with fire, focussing on the windows this time. Throwing a grenade in there might have worked, but we only had limited grenades. We seemed to have unlimited ice.

Then a tank burst through the outside wall. I gaped at it for about half a second longer than I’d like, but the rest of my team wasn’t as slow. Borys pounded it with ice and sleet, while Kyle stepped forward, shield at the ready.

The main gun wasn’t pointed at us, and it didn’t seem inclined to wait for its turret to rotate. It spun its tracks against the slick stone surface, turning to face us. That was all I had time to see before I stepped into a shadow and put myself inside. Unlike illusions, Borys’s storm did reduce the overall light level.

This act, this sacrifice, will echo through history as a testament to the unbreakable will of the German people.

I held on to the walls of the tank and used [Theurgy], ripping the mana right out of the metal.

I was never going to get used to the screaming.

Your party has killed a Panzer II - your experience share is 463 XP

Huh, only an assist. I guess that ice did something to it.

The world will know that the Reich, even in the face of total annihilation, chose to strike one final, devastating blow for the glory and the honour of our nation!

I climbed out of the hatch under my own power. We were in a rush, but I was starting to get low on mana. I still hadn’t recovered from shadow-stepping the entire team.

Let our enemies tremble as they realize the price they must pay to defeat us! And let this be a signal to every German heart—urk!

That didn’t sound like it was part of the script.

Your party has killed a German Führer - your experience share is 305 XP

“Hold up on the ice,” I told Borys. “We’re getting close to where Cloridan might be, and I can’t see him through the storm.”

He nodded. He didn’t cancel the storm, but it parted, leaving the way forward clear. I could see Cloridan waving to us from the engine. There were only two more cars to go. One passenger, and one bomb car.

“I see him,” I said. “He’s at the engine.”

“Then that just leaves…” He looked at the final passenger carriage.

I shrugged and raked the side of the carriage with my carbine. Once again, he sent the storm in through the broken windows. This time, there were no screams. Or notifications.

“It’s… empty?” Borys said questioningly.

Then the carriage exploded.

Everyone jumped as gouts of fire and smoke shot out from the broken windows. The inside of the carriage was consumed with roiling flames. Somehow, though, the main structure of the carriage resisted the blast. It kept the fireball mostly contained. We all stared, watching the flames slowly die down.

“Booby-trapped?” I speculated. “In case we fought our way through the train?”

“Must be,” Borys agreed. “The wind or ice must have set it off. I saw the notification for Goblin Hitler, but did you see one for the final objective?”

“No,” I admitted. “I guess the final objective is something to do with the bomb?”

I looked at Sarge. “You got enough explosives to blow up another bomb?”

Sarge grimaced. “Fraid not,” he said. “We could have used what was in that other carriage.”

We walked cautiously up to the engine, casting suspicious glances at the bomb carriage. It looked inert and didn’t have any goblins hiding on it. Cloridan must have ducked back into the engine car when the explosion went off, but he popped back out again as we approached. I cancelled the invisibility spell.

“I’ve got your final objective, right here!” he said as soon as he was able.

“It wasn’t the speech guy?” I asked.

“Nope, it was pretty close though.” He led us up to the engine car and had us look inside. The corpse of Goblin Hitler was there, slumped against a wall. Cloridan had taken him out with a headshot, so I couldn’t tell if he had the little moustache. The other feature of the cabin was a prominent panel with two buttons. One was labelled ‘Detonate’, the other was labelled ‘Disarm’

“It can’t be this easy,” I said.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Cloridan said. “He was looking at the red one, but I can’t read the labels, so I thought I’d wait for you.”

I looked at Borys. “What are the odds that he’s mislabeled them as a joke?”

Borys thought about it. “Pretty low, I’d say. He’s played us pretty straight so far.”

“Do you want to do the honours, then? I don’t know if I could live with killing us all.”

Borys gave me a wry smile. “That would be difficult,” he said. He stumped up to the panel. After a moment of hesitation, he pressed the green button.

There was a pop as confetti was released from the ceiling.

I almost died from fright. Then the entire front half of the engine started rising, tilting forward with a hiss of hydraulics. It revealed a stairway going down, and another of Axel’s video screens.

“Congratulations, adventurers!” Axel’s face said. “You won the war! As a reward, you get… Question Time!”