Denny the hunter offered to cover the building in tar and pitch. Said something about 'maximizing the effect of the trap' or some muttering like that.
Anyway, I'm not gonna complain as my spirituality was not only drained, it felt off. 'Cutting the consciousness' of that guard must have been a mistake somehow. My hands were trembling and I had gripped my knife so hard my knuckles turned white.
I sat in a meditative pose to rest and calm myself. I laid the knife on my lap and studied it. Somehow, the weapon smelled off, as if it had cut into something that is appetizing but also disgusting. A moldy bread, or an overcooked steak. Something like that.
I gestured to Alder, "Sir. I need a little longer to rest. When are we planning to spring the trap?"
He studied me, and must have noticed my fatigue. "Take your time, although the building is not too big, Denny is probably going to be extra careful not to let the occupants know that they are about to become charred ash.
The storehouse also has only one entrance so both me and Denny is more than enough to block the door. If you're still tired you may skip the ambush then."
I nodded. Hopefully I'll recover a bit and can join them as I'm truly curious to whatever is inside the building that smells like roast turkey.
Or maybe I'm just hungry?
I closed my eyes for a short nap.
***
Alger shook me awake not too long after and as I opened my eyes I see him and Denny squatting in front of me.
Denny gave a thumbs up, "It's ready! The roof and walls are now very flammable. I also obstructed the door so that escape will be tough. And tied up the sleeping guard to a tree. The patrols never even noticed that he was missing."
I studied my body, and felt a bit refreshed. Although still a bit 'sore' spiritually I was ready for a bit of action. My combat knife still felt off, so I injected a bit of spirituality to coat the blade and swung it at empty air.
The smell slowly dissipated.
Huh. Why the heck is it so wierd.
I stood up and learned that the non-beyonders had been told to leave first as what we are about to do will create a big commotion and they were too weak to escape easily then.
So it was left to the three of us.
We snuck near the storehouse, now with patches of black tar spread around it. Denny gave me a wink, and tossed a lit torch on top of the roof. Sections of the building caught fire and the flame soon spread around.
Not long after, muffled shouts of panic were heard from inside the building. Also lots of coughing as smoke and ash were also produced.
A few seconds later, loud thudding noised were produced as whoever inside tried to forcefully ram open the door, but it seemed that piles of wood and crates had barricaded the entrance.
We waited in a dark corner as the sounds of running patrol approached. As they rushed towards the burning building without noticing us, their backs soon turned to us.
Illusory scales covered Alder's hand like a gauntlet and he stormed towards the guard's back. As soon as he reached them, he punched the back of one of the patrol and if the loud cracking sound was to be believed, the spine was definitely broken.
The victim's scream of pain alerted his peers and they pulled out their two handed swords out of their scabbard. Looking at their friend screaming in pain at the ground, lying almost in a fetal position, they steadied themselved to fight against Alder.
Alder simply approached them and began a one sided slaughter. Their blades were unable to slash or penetrate his illusory scale armor and he easily beat up the rest of the four still standing patrols with a single or double punch.
Soon, all was left was Alder standing around the groaning patrols lying down on the ground.
Denny suddenly patted my shoulders and gestured to the burning building. He gave me a sign, which we had agreed earlier on meant that I should stay back and hide and so I did.
I watched as Denny approached the door of the burning building and ready his javelin in a throwing pose. As soon as the door was bisected in two by a glowing blade, Denny thew his weapon through the doorway. A grunt confirmed that he hit someone but his target survived.
Soon, a large crash soon revealed a gigantic man barreling out of the doorway, his shoulders bleeding from the thrown javelin and his cape on fire. However, the giant did not seemed to be bothered by either his injury nor the heat.
He wielded a two handed sword as wide as his thighs and as tall as his shoulders. He coughed and grimaced as he studied his two opponents.
Alder joined Denny and the two stood side by side. Alder took out a curved dagger from his sheath and frowned, "Its Dubois. Seems like they were quite serious about taking us out. At least the rest of his men are burning inside the building now.
I took a peek from a distance, through the doorway of the burning building and noticed soldiers, piled on top of one another. Their uniforms partially burning.
Must have suffocated in the smoke as they tried to crawl on top of one another to escape. Poor buggers.
I sniffed.
Huh. The giant is the roast turkey. He seems immune to fire though...
Can you roast something that is immune to fire?