Chapter 6: Welcome To Spiderweb
Chapter 6: Welcome To Spiderweb
Garzad untied Randomizer and helped him up. "What are you doing here?"
"ET," Randomizer said.
"Do you think we can slip past the bots somehow?"
Randomizer looked out the window. "Hah! Not likely."
Garzad started to pace. "That's not good. I need to get back somehow, to warn everyone that... well, remember when I said I was set up to look like a traitor?"
"Yeah."
"It turns out Danielle was behind it and now she's working with someone... Dintiradan, I think."
"Dintiradan? That's not good. What are they doing, do you know?"
"I don't. But they were in the BoA Forum, so it was some sort of scripting. And I swear Danielle was glowing slightly."
"They must be doing some sort of stat scripting then. Or else they discovered how to make canisters in BoA." Randomizer thought for a minute. "Hmm. I wonder if they could figure out a way to get my spells back."
---
Ecksian, Eternal Flame, and EcksianBot moved so they could watch what was happening at Spiderweb directly. Several bots were battering the front door. Occasionally, one would fall from a missile, but it was quickly carried away to be repaired and replaced. The door already had a few cracks in it.
"This doesn't look like it will take long at all," Ecksian said.
The electric pylons by the door suddenly flared to life and discharged. Every bot standing nearby was blasted. A moment later, the door opened. Niemand, Jewels, Iffy, and Lazarus hurried out. Jewels and Niemand waited at the bridge with their weapons out while the other two carried in the bots that were still mostly in one piece.
More bots rushed in. The bridge sank into the moat when they were halfway across it. Niemand and Jewels hacked at the first bot to make it across. When it fell, they dragged it inside. The door slammed behind them.
"Spite, Tinder, see if you can fireball those pylons," Eternal Flame said.
Ecksian pointed to a group of bots. "You. Protect those two flamers."
The bots Ecksian had pointed to nodded and formed a wall in front of the two flamer captains. Several bots stepped aside long enough for Tinder and Spite to lob a fireball at the closest electric pylon. Alorael tried to snipe them, but the bots had already stepped in front of them again. The bullet bounced off of armor.
The other group of bots had made it across the moat by now and resumed their attempts to smash down the door. The electric pylons went off again. Niemand, Nicothodes, and Iffy carried in the fallen bots.
Inside Spiderweb, Spiderwebbers and rats waited nervously. A few people had fallen asleep. A few others were posting half-heartedly. Andraste clubbed the stolen bots to bits. The Almighty Doer of Stuff and the Silent Assassin set up traps that would cover the bots with sanity. But most just waited with their favorite weapons close to hand.
An hour passed before the flamers finally managed to explode one of the electric pylons. Ecksian and Eternal Flame sat in the shade now.
"Finally!" Ecksian said.
When the remaining electic pylon went off, most of the bots were able to dive out of the way in time.
Dintiradan and the Lurker sat by the Deth Ray. Stareye joined them. "Is this thing ready?"
"Of course," Dintiradan said.
There was a crack from the front door as the bots hit it again.
Stareye looked around. "Schrodinger, SoT, carry the summoning machine into the Geneforge 4 Forum. Andraste, will you and... no, not you, Iffy. You've done plenty already and you look like you could use a rest. You're Feo, right?"
"Yes," Feo Takahari said.
"You and Andraste will do the same with the supplies. Niemand, get some of the traps from the BoA Forum and set them up in Tech Support. Alorael, you can stay up there, but have everyone else come down."
A minute later, the door finally tore off its hinges and fell inward. Bots charged inside.
"Everyone else, stand back! Dintiradan, fire," Stareye said.
The Deth Ray vaporized all the bots in its path. Several Spiderwebbers and rats stepped forward to make a barricade out of the door and lots of furniture.
Spite and Tinder blew up the second electric pylon.
"All right, that's it for now. Go find something to entertain yourselves." Eternal Flame said.
Tinder and Spite left. The bots that had been guarding them crossed the moat and launched themselves at the barricade.
The barricade lasted only a few minutes before being smashed apart. Dintiradan fired the Deth Ray again, but the bots were prepared for it. Some of them managed to get out of the way in time. When they saw that it wasn't going to fire again immediately, they charged inside.
---
Garzad and Randomizer continued to wait in the abandoned message board. They could hear bots running up and down the street.
"Do you smell smoke?" Randomizer asked.
Garzad sniffed. "Maybe?"
Something hit the message board, sending a load of dust down onto Garzad and Randomizer.
"Hey!" A flamer yelled, "It was my turn--"
"Ha! You don't get a turn until you learn how to aim!"
Garzad sneezed.
"Why you--what was that?"
"I don't know. Let's go look."
Tinder and Spite opened the door and stepped inside.
"Fireball them. Hurry!" Randomizer said.
Garzad hit the flamers with a bolt of fire. "Now what?"
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'd rather not return to Spiderweb by dying. So, I suggest that we run as far away as we can before the bots notice us."
"Right." Garzad cast haste on himself.
"No, don't try to cast any spells on me!" Randomizer said.
"Do your best to keep up, then!" Garzad grabbed Randomizer by the arm and sprinted out of the building. He cast slow on the bots that came after them. Randomizer concentrated on trying to keep up but was half-dragged along regardless.
---
The bots set off several traps as they charged. Finely chopped pieces of sanity went everywhere, including between the gaps in the bots' armor. The Almighty Doer of Stuff opened the trapdoor to the fluffy turtle pit. "All right, everything is ready for you. Just be careful!"
Inspector Walnut waited until all the other fluffy turtles were out of the pit before climbing up and joining the feast himself. Scraps of metal and bits of wire flew everywhere.
Dintiradan waited until the feeding frenzy has mostly died down, checked to make sure the Deth Ray would go over the fluffy turtles' heads, and fired. The last bots were vaporized.
Saunders and the Almighty Doer of Stuff hurried forward to herd the fluffy turtles back into their pit. Several had been killed. Many more had been injured. The Almighty Doer of Stuff did his best to coax the injured ones into drinking a healing potion.
"Positions, everyone!" Stareye yelled.
The ranged attackers grouped together around the Deth Ray while the melee attackers lined up across the forum. Several of them had scavenged shields or armor off of the stolen bots. Nioca, Zeviz, and the magic-using rats ran back and forth, casting protective spells. Slartucker walked around too, calculating everyone's encumbrance.
"Bless, shield, bless, shield... where's Drakefyre with his divine warrior when you really need him?" Nioca asked.
"Haste. Yes, I know. Haste," Zeviz said.
"You're encumbered. Get rid of those greaves. They aren't very good anyway," Slartucker said.
The next wave of bots entered the forum as quickly as they could. They advanced cautiously now, checking for more traps.
Iffy wiped sweat out of his eyes. A purple rat went by, casting war blessing on him. The rat standing to his left trembled slightly. To his right, Excalibur looked impatient. Suddenly caught up in it all, Iffy jabbed his new metal spork into the air and yelled, "For Spiderweb!"
---
Arancaytar and Zephyr Tempest waited by the summoning machine in the Geneforge 4: Rebellion Forum. No one had died in a while.
Schrodinger and Student of Trinity helped Andraste and Feo Takahari carry supplies. All of them heard Iffy's yell.
"For Spiderweb!" Delicious Vlish's voice echoed.
"That's our cue, then," Schrodinger said.
Andraste, Student of Trinity, Schrodinger, and Feo Takahari ran up to the General Forum. Niemand remained in the Tech Support Forum, checking the trap SDFs one last time.
Iffy's yell had become a chant. "Spiderweb! Spiderweb! Spiderweb!"
"Nethergate!" Tyranicus bellowed.
"Spiderweb! Spiderweb!"
Emperor Tullegolar stood in silence. Around him, Jeran Korak, Azuma, Nalyd, Ackrovan, and Neossokrass had a chant of their own. "For the Emperor! E! T! E! T!"
Stareye sighed when he heard them.
"Spiderweb! Spiderweb! Spiderweb!"
"DV, Nemesis, and everyone in between, get down!" Dintiradan waited a moment and then fired the Deth Ray again.
"Missile users, fire!" Stareye said, "Everyone else, charge! For Spiderweb!"
"ET," Randomizer said.
"Do you think we can slip past the bots somehow?"
Randomizer looked out the window. "Hah! Not likely."
Garzad started to pace. "That's not good. I need to get back somehow, to warn everyone that... well, remember when I said I was set up to look like a traitor?"
"Yeah."
"It turns out Danielle was behind it and now she's working with someone... Dintiradan, I think."
"Dintiradan? That's not good. What are they doing, do you know?"
"I don't. But they were in the BoA Forum, so it was some sort of scripting. And I swear Danielle was glowing slightly."
"They must be doing some sort of stat scripting then. Or else they discovered how to make canisters in BoA." Randomizer thought for a minute. "Hmm. I wonder if they could figure out a way to get my spells back."
---
Ecksian, Eternal Flame, and EcksianBot moved so they could watch what was happening at Spiderweb directly. Several bots were battering the front door. Occasionally, one would fall from a missile, but it was quickly carried away to be repaired and replaced. The door already had a few cracks in it.
"This doesn't look like it will take long at all," Ecksian said.
The electric pylons by the door suddenly flared to life and discharged. Every bot standing nearby was blasted. A moment later, the door opened. Niemand, Jewels, Iffy, and Lazarus hurried out. Jewels and Niemand waited at the bridge with their weapons out while the other two carried in the bots that were still mostly in one piece.
More bots rushed in. The bridge sank into the moat when they were halfway across it. Niemand and Jewels hacked at the first bot to make it across. When it fell, they dragged it inside. The door slammed behind them.
"Spite, Tinder, see if you can fireball those pylons," Eternal Flame said.
Ecksian pointed to a group of bots. "You. Protect those two flamers."
The bots Ecksian had pointed to nodded and formed a wall in front of the two flamer captains. Several bots stepped aside long enough for Tinder and Spite to lob a fireball at the closest electric pylon. Alorael tried to snipe them, but the bots had already stepped in front of them again. The bullet bounced off of armor.
The other group of bots had made it across the moat by now and resumed their attempts to smash down the door. The electric pylons went off again. Niemand, Nicothodes, and Iffy carried in the fallen bots.
Inside Spiderweb, Spiderwebbers and rats waited nervously. A few people had fallen asleep. A few others were posting half-heartedly. Andraste clubbed the stolen bots to bits. The Almighty Doer of Stuff and the Silent Assassin set up traps that would cover the bots with sanity. But most just waited with their favorite weapons close to hand.
An hour passed before the flamers finally managed to explode one of the electric pylons. Ecksian and Eternal Flame sat in the shade now.
"Finally!" Ecksian said.
When the remaining electic pylon went off, most of the bots were able to dive out of the way in time.
Dintiradan and the Lurker sat by the Deth Ray. Stareye joined them. "Is this thing ready?"
"Of course," Dintiradan said.
There was a crack from the front door as the bots hit it again.
Stareye looked around. "Schrodinger, SoT, carry the summoning machine into the Geneforge 4 Forum. Andraste, will you and... no, not you, Iffy. You've done plenty already and you look like you could use a rest. You're Feo, right?"
"Yes," Feo Takahari said.
"You and Andraste will do the same with the supplies. Niemand, get some of the traps from the BoA Forum and set them up in Tech Support. Alorael, you can stay up there, but have everyone else come down."
A minute later, the door finally tore off its hinges and fell inward. Bots charged inside.
"Everyone else, stand back! Dintiradan, fire," Stareye said.
The Deth Ray vaporized all the bots in its path. Several Spiderwebbers and rats stepped forward to make a barricade out of the door and lots of furniture.
Spite and Tinder blew up the second electric pylon.
"All right, that's it for now. Go find something to entertain yourselves." Eternal Flame said.
Tinder and Spite left. The bots that had been guarding them crossed the moat and launched themselves at the barricade.
The barricade lasted only a few minutes before being smashed apart. Dintiradan fired the Deth Ray again, but the bots were prepared for it. Some of them managed to get out of the way in time. When they saw that it wasn't going to fire again immediately, they charged inside.
---
Garzad and Randomizer continued to wait in the abandoned message board. They could hear bots running up and down the street.
"Do you smell smoke?" Randomizer asked.
Garzad sniffed. "Maybe?"
Something hit the message board, sending a load of dust down onto Garzad and Randomizer.
"Hey!" A flamer yelled, "It was my turn--"
"Ha! You don't get a turn until you learn how to aim!"
Garzad sneezed.
"Why you--what was that?"
"I don't know. Let's go look."
Tinder and Spite opened the door and stepped inside.
"Fireball them. Hurry!" Randomizer said.
Garzad hit the flamers with a bolt of fire. "Now what?"
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'd rather not return to Spiderweb by dying. So, I suggest that we run as far away as we can before the bots notice us."
"Right." Garzad cast haste on himself.
"No, don't try to cast any spells on me!" Randomizer said.
"Do your best to keep up, then!" Garzad grabbed Randomizer by the arm and sprinted out of the building. He cast slow on the bots that came after them. Randomizer concentrated on trying to keep up but was half-dragged along regardless.
---
The bots set off several traps as they charged. Finely chopped pieces of sanity went everywhere, including between the gaps in the bots' armor. The Almighty Doer of Stuff opened the trapdoor to the fluffy turtle pit. "All right, everything is ready for you. Just be careful!"
Inspector Walnut waited until all the other fluffy turtles were out of the pit before climbing up and joining the feast himself. Scraps of metal and bits of wire flew everywhere.
Dintiradan waited until the feeding frenzy has mostly died down, checked to make sure the Deth Ray would go over the fluffy turtles' heads, and fired. The last bots were vaporized.
Saunders and the Almighty Doer of Stuff hurried forward to herd the fluffy turtles back into their pit. Several had been killed. Many more had been injured. The Almighty Doer of Stuff did his best to coax the injured ones into drinking a healing potion.
"Positions, everyone!" Stareye yelled.
The ranged attackers grouped together around the Deth Ray while the melee attackers lined up across the forum. Several of them had scavenged shields or armor off of the stolen bots. Nioca, Zeviz, and the magic-using rats ran back and forth, casting protective spells. Slartucker walked around too, calculating everyone's encumbrance.
"Bless, shield, bless, shield... where's Drakefyre with his divine warrior when you really need him?" Nioca asked.
"Haste. Yes, I know. Haste," Zeviz said.
"You're encumbered. Get rid of those greaves. They aren't very good anyway," Slartucker said.
The next wave of bots entered the forum as quickly as they could. They advanced cautiously now, checking for more traps.
Iffy wiped sweat out of his eyes. A purple rat went by, casting war blessing on him. The rat standing to his left trembled slightly. To his right, Excalibur looked impatient. Suddenly caught up in it all, Iffy jabbed his new metal spork into the air and yelled, "For Spiderweb!"
---
Arancaytar and Zephyr Tempest waited by the summoning machine in the Geneforge 4: Rebellion Forum. No one had died in a while.
Schrodinger and Student of Trinity helped Andraste and Feo Takahari carry supplies. All of them heard Iffy's yell.
"For Spiderweb!" Delicious Vlish's voice echoed.
"That's our cue, then," Schrodinger said.
Andraste, Student of Trinity, Schrodinger, and Feo Takahari ran up to the General Forum. Niemand remained in the Tech Support Forum, checking the trap SDFs one last time.
Iffy's yell had become a chant. "Spiderweb! Spiderweb! Spiderweb!"
"Nethergate!" Tyranicus bellowed.
"Spiderweb! Spiderweb!"
Emperor Tullegolar stood in silence. Around him, Jeran Korak, Azuma, Nalyd, Ackrovan, and Neossokrass had a chant of their own. "For the Emperor! E! T! E! T!"
Stareye sighed when he heard them.
"Spiderweb! Spiderweb! Spiderweb!"
"DV, Nemesis, and everyone in between, get down!" Dintiradan waited a moment and then fired the Deth Ray again.
"Missile users, fire!" Stareye said, "Everyone else, charge! For Spiderweb!"