You are Summoned

Gripping the pitchfork was painful with the burns on my hand. I wasn’t sure what spell that necromancer had cast, but I could see it being a very useful one. What if I had been wearing plate armor or chainmail and had that spell cast on it? I’d be cooked. Just my hand was cooked now, but I’d still be the main course if too many ghouls were able to climb up here with me.

One was only a few steps away and had just thrown his arm over the edge of the hayloft, only to be met by the tines of my pitchfork. I stabbed it in the head and the sturdy farm implement turned weapon proved brutally effective. The ghoul gave a short squeal before going limp and dangling off ledge, only held on by the claws of one hand that were still embedded in the wood.

Another ghoul tried to use the one dangling there as a ladder, but the extra weight caused both to fall to the ground. I moved along the edge of the loft, stabbing at anything that was making its way up. One ghoul finally managed to pull itself up and charged straight at me with its nasty claws leading the way.

I knelt and set the butt of the pitchfork into a grove in the floor as I received the charge. The tines of the pitchfork burst completely through the ghoul’s chest as it impaled itself on my weapon. Its claws were only inches away from my face as it frantically swiped at me before succumbing to its wounds.

As the ghoul fell, it pulled the pitchfork from my grasp, eliciting a grunt of pain as the movement tore some of the burnt and blistered skin on my hand. Trying to ignore the pain, I grabbed the next closest weapon, a shovel. I kind of preferred the pitchfork, but the shovel wasn’t that bad of a replacement. It gave a satisfying metallic clang as I bashed a climbing ghoul over the head with it.

Two ghouls at the far end of the loft climbed up at almost the same time and charged. I didn’t think I could handle two at once, as I backed as far away as I could. Checking on my mana, I had regenerated one point which had me quickly grabbing a wand and firing at the nearest ghoul. The magic missile slammed into its shoulder, tearing into it, and making one arm useless, but it wasn’t a fatal wound.

It did slow the thing down a step or two, giving me a clear swing with my shovel at the other one. The blow knocked the ghoul off its feet and off the edge of the hayloft. My backswing thudded ineffectively into the wounded ghoul, who grabbed the shovel and pulled it from my grasp.

I awkwardly tried to get at the dagger on my belt with my uninjured hand, while launching a front thrust kick at the wounded ghoul. My kick hit and pushed the monster back a step, not doing much damage, but allowing me to draw my weapon. A dagger seemed a pitiful defense against the remaining ghouls, another of whom had just climbed its way into the loft.

Looking for a place to retreat, I noticed the rope that the farmers used to pull hay into and out of the loft. Sheathing my knife and sticking a wand in my belt, I made a run for the rope, grabbing on and launching myself out the door. The wounded ghoul followed right behind me, falling all the way to the ground as its one good arm barely missed my swinging body.

Climbing a rope with a badly burnt hand wasn’t easy, but I was able to make it a couple feet higher and grab onto the beam the rope was mounted on. The beam stuck out from the barn by a good four feet, and by climbing up onto it, I could just barely reach the roof. Ghouls began to gather around the doorway to the loft, growling and hissing at me as they tried to get at the tasty target that was just out of reach.

The ghouls had seen their comrade fall from the loft and were being careful about following me. I clambered up onto the roof, peeking over the edge to see what the ghouls did. One was pushed out of the loft door by their jostling, crashing twelve feet to the hard ground outside the barn. It jumped back up but was now walking with a limp.

I appeared safe for the minute as I waited on the roof for my mana to regenerate. The ghouls would eventually find a way up here, but the longer they took, the more mana I would build up. Once I had another point of mana ready, I leaned over the roof and looked for a target.

One ghoul was hanging from the beam I had just climbed up from, and it would be my next victim. The magic missile hit the monster in the chest, knocking it from the beam and slamming him to the ground where it lay motionless. While I waited for my mana to regenerate and the ghouls to make a move, I checked on how the main battle was progressing.

Fitzfazzle’s mech was slumped over in one of the fields and the giant zombie had also fallen nearby. I hoped the gnome was safe, but the battle was still going strong. The swarm of zombies appeared much smaller than it had been, and I could see piles of things massed up near the gate to the village.

Using the mound of their fallen as a bridge, the zombies had started to climb over the gates. I couldn’t see the defenders now that they were forced back from the wall, there was too much in the way. The gnomes must have still been holding strong as the zombies weren’t making much progress.

The other mech near the village was still in the fight. It was no longer firing magic missiles, having likely expended all its ammunition, but the spears welded to the mech’s hands were slashing and stabbing at any zombie in reach. Two of the machines still stood watch over the cave, but one had left its post and was heading toward where Fitzfazzle’s mech had fallen. Since I was still here, my gnome summoner must still be alive.

If Fitzfazzle had fallen, I was pretty sure I would be unsummoned. Another ghoul had made its way onto the beam and my mana was ready for him. A quick magic missile killed the ghoul and I waited for the others to make their appearance. I had lost count, but there was probably eight or nine of the things still alive.

Minutes passed as the ghouls slowly and clumsily made their way onto the beam and tried to climb up onto the roof to get me. Their progress was slow and gave me plenty of time to pick them off as each made the attempt. By the time the last ghoul had been dealt with, the battle at the village was about wrapped up.

Most of the zombies were down and soldiers, supported by the mechs, were mopping up the rest. I stayed on the roof and waited for someone to come out here to investigate the battle at the farm. The flow of ghouls trying to climb up to the roof had stopped, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any lurking about, waiting for me to show myself.

After another half hour, a mech and a score of armored gnome soldiers made their way toward the farm. When they got close, I stood on the roof and waved to get their attention. It was a bit unnerving to see the mech pilot swivel toward me, pointing all those magic missile tubes in my direction. Odds were that the mech had expended its ammo, but I was just glad the pilot recognized we were on the same team.

“Hey, be careful. There may still be some ghouls alive inside the barn. There might be some wounded ones just waiting for you to get too close,” I shouted down, warning the soldiers who were making their way to the barn door. Armed with spears, the soldiers took no chances, stabbing each ghoul corpse just to make sure as they approached.

“Rico, are you okay?” The gnome pilot said after cracking open his cockpit. It was Flunzzlebump.

“I’m a little battered and burnt, but still in one piece. I saw Fitzfazzle’s mech out there, is he okay?” I responded.

“Yes, he made it, you hang tight, the soldiers will be up there to get you in a minute,” Flunzzlebump said.

I heard a few shouts of surprise as the soldiers cleared out the last of the ghouls. Once they reached the door to the loft, it was safe for me to climb down. The process wasn’t easy, and I needed the help of the soldiers to make it back inside the barn. My burnt hand wasn’t responding like it should, and the wound had gone numb, which was probably a bad sign.

“Rico, did you do all this?” Flunzzlebump said in surprise.

“The mech did most of the work, and I was able to pry a few magic missile wands loose before the ghouls got here. How are things in the village?” I asked.

“We took some losses, more than I would like, but most of our people survived and are working to clean things up so people can move back in,” Flunzzlebump advised.

“And what happens now?” I asked.

“We find the source of this undead plague and end it.” He replied.

“Good, I think I know who caused all of this. Do you know of a crypt somewhere nearby?” I asked.