A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic
Chapter 217: Marshaled Forces

•••

"No."

"Henry, come on," Eloise said in a slightly pleading tone.

She had left the Citadel quickly once Sir Boyle had given her the go-ahead to bring in outside help and now she stood in the common area with her eyes intent on Henry trying to get him to come along.

"Eloise. No," Henry insisted, "I was just in a Dungeon and I did not quite enjoy it. Not at all actually so I'm not in any way excited to head back in. Besides, I have other things to think about. Things like ending Ralph Gribbo."

"You can't do that right now anyway," Eloise pointed out, "Besides, you can still work toward that goal a bit by coming along."

"How so?" Henry asked. His interest was piqued for the first time since Eloise had returned with her request.

"Ralph Gribbo will be lending some of his Mercenaries and they'll be coming with slaves. If you come along, we can set another batch free."

"I think you could do that on your own," Henry said.

"Even if I could, I won't. I can't. You saw how much Aurelius was against it the last time. The Knights I'll be entering the Dungeon with will be no different.

And let's even assume I manage to undermine my superiors and comrades and free them, or attempt to anyway, would you really not want to have a part in it?"

Eloise ended her question with a hard stare into Henry's eyes. Her grey orbs burrowed into his black ones.

And then;

[You have triggered a Sub-Quest in the ongoing Main Quest: The Gunslinger's Revenge…]

[Sub Quest: Freedom Fighter.

Description: Venture into the Dungeon, Liberate the slaves, and Eliminate the Slavers along the way to reduce the overall Forces of your Main Quest Target 'Ralph Gribbo.

For every Slaver you Eliminate, you will receive a Bonus of 450 Exp.

Sub Quest Reward: 5000 Exp]

Henry let out a sigh right after he was done reading the Quest Descriptions and the reward that awaited him. If he wasn't already leaning toward accepting Eloise's request (and he was) then this Quest made it so he could not possibly say no.

"When do we leave?" He asked.

Andor beamed and grabbed his shoulder to do some stretches in excited preparation.

Eloise smiled,

"Less than Thirty minutes," she said.

"Give me a second," Henry said and went into his room to open Elminster's portal and vanish into it.

He had gotten some Gold from the Mercenaries they had killed the night before and, added with what he already had, he stocked up on his already lessening inventory of bullets for all his guns.

"Thanks for the Hat and the Vest," he found the time to tell Elminster who beamed with the pride of someone who never tired of hearing how well his products worked.

"They're both Original Elminsters so you always have a guarantee," the old man said with a wide grin while stroking his beard.

It was only after Henry left Elminster's workshop did he remembered there were other things he should have considered restocking and now he had no money to get them.

Unlike Elminster, the traders in Alvareen were not at all open to offering their goods on credit.

He opened his Inventory just as he walked out of his room. He was looking through the Interface with an intensity that Eloise and Andor didn't understand as they thought he was looking at nothing.

"I'll need Mana Potions. Might have to restock," Henry mumbled without glancing away from the interface, "Andor, do you have any Gold on you?"

Andor opened his mouth to answer but Eloise interjected before he could.

"If it's potions you want, I've got 'em," she announced and with a wave of her hand, she dropped multiple bottles of potions onto the small table.

Henry did a quick count; There were 24.

"Whoa," he let out as he picked one of the potions up.

[A Mana Potion brewed by Zanaya the Eminent.

Will recover up to 300 Mana Points.

Will recover some Stamina and leave behind a feeling of Elation in the drinker.]

"Wow," he said.

"Is it enough," Eloise asked.

"It's a lot actually," Henry said sounding unsure, "Are you sure you want to give me this much?"

Eloise waved him off,

"Don't worry about it. I have too much of the stuff and I hardly ever use it," she said, "Take it and let's go."

Henry nodded hesitantly and then sent the Potions into his Inventory. This sorted out the issue with Mana recovery. He still needed some Healing Potions but would not mention it lest Eloise offered again. At least not so soon after her recent gift.

And then, Louis' room door opened for the second time that day.

"Louis, you—" Henry started to say but the Mage interjected.

"I heard it all. I'm coming too," he said with a steely expression.

"You should be on bed rest," Henry told him.

"I can't really rest with that stupid wave spreading all over," Louis said, "Besides, I'm fine."

To prove it, Louis took steps into in common area and then did a jump. He winced when his feet hit the ground.

"You just winced," Andor pointed out.

"I'm fine!" Louis insisted and took another jump only this time, his knees buckled when his feet touched the ground and he fell forward.

Andor made to catch him but Eloise was already there.

"Rest," she told him in a soothing voice, "There's no reason to put your body under undue stress while still recovering from the blow you suffered.

Alice and Darren will stay with you."

Louis opened his mouth and it was clear he wished to insist on his ability to come along but eventually, he let out a sigh and relented.

"Fine," he said.

Eloise called for Alice and Darren and they were there in less than ten minutes more than happy to obey and so, with one last look at Louis watching them leave with his wide blue eyes and a hand raised in encouragement, Henry and Andor followed Eloise out of the Hall.

The Journey to the Citadel was completed in mere minutes courtesy of Eloise's carriage and when they stepped out, they saw the two groups arranged within the Citadel's massive courtyard.

Henry had his eyes on the Citadel and while his feet followed Eloise's lead, he paid no attention to where they were actually going.

The Citadel was magnificent.

It was like someone had stopped the construction of a massive castle at its first two floors and then decided to cap the incomplete structure with a tall tower that extended Eight Floors high.

Thanks to this strange amalgamation of structures that should not have worked but certainly did in this case, the Citadel appeared as much a center of Martial Excellence as well as Knowledge.

"Sir Boyle, this is Henry and this is Andor," Eloise said and pointed at each of them as she called their names in Introduction.

At the mention of his name, Henry tore his eyes from the Citadel to the tall, armored man Eloise was speaking to. His lips were pressed together as he assessed him and Andor.

"Fighter," he said while pointing at Andor.

Andor nodded,

"Yes, I am."

"Sword?" Boyle asked with a raised brow.

"Spear," Andor said.

Boyle nodded. He didn't look all too impressed but didn't look too disappointed either. He glanced at Henry next,

"And you—"

"Gunslinger," Henry said calmly.

Boyle's brow went even higher up on his face,

"You use a gun?" He asked.

"Guns," Henry amended before nodding, "And yes."

"Huh," Boyle said.

"He's very good with it," Eloise stepped in to say then.

Boyle simply nodded and then he smiled,

"Your kind are not many," he said.

"Not around here, no," Henry agreed equally with a smile.

Boyle nodded and then shrugged,

"Well, you're as reliant on ammo as Archers I suppose, so who cares. What do you do if your bullets run out though?"

Henry's smile gained a reminiscence. He had heard someone say something similar over a week ago but while Dick Doherty had said it to be a dick (pun intended), Boyle seemed genuinely concerned.

"I think I have enough actually," Henry said, "But if I do run out, I think I'll still be fine."

Boyle nodded looking slightly satisfied with the answer,

"I hope so. For your sake mostly. We'll be facing swarms of enemies and you'll need a lot of Ammo to make it through."

Boyle gestured that Eloise take her place by his side as a second-in-command of sorts and then he directed Henry and Andor to assemble with the already organized group.

Boyle was just about to start dishing out directives in preparation to marshal their numbers to storm the Evolving Dungeon's gate when sounds of footsteps called attention to the Gate into the Citadel's grounds closest to them.

"Ah, they're here," Boyle said looking relieved.

Henry looked and so did Eloise and Andor and the three frowned as one.

Mercenaries moved in a slightly irregular group with cuff-wearing slaves trooping in behind them. At the front of the group was a man Henry slightly recognized. The man had been with Kayla last night and had turned her attention away from them.

Speaking of Kayla, she was with the group too. Looking surly like last night's loss was still fresh in her memory.