The creatures were starting to swarm. Donut castMagic Missile, blowing a ton away, but more just kept coming. I examined one, which was an elf-like doll with black hair and purple streaks.
Toot-Toot doll. Level 12 Grape-flavored Cocaine Elemental.
So, the dolls were a mistake. In preparing to defend their factory, the knockers got a little enthusiastic with the elemental magic. The metal frames of these dolls are infused with their special blend, and when they cast the magic spell in the steel mill to create the elemental boss monsters you’ll probably face in a few minutes, some of that magic accidentally leaked. And now thesecreepy little fuckers are everywhere. That’s why this room was sealed off, but some elemental magic is contagious, and now that you’ve broken the seal of the room... Well, let’s just see what happens next.
Warning: This is an infused elemental. Unlike regular elementals, the infused variety have the pass-through ability. If you don’t know what that means, you’re about to find out.
Next to us, the giant crate started to shake.
“We need to hurry the fuck up,” I said. “I’m going to jump down there and grab him.”
“And then what, Carl? You’re not a kangaroo anymore. I got this.” Donut jumped from the back of the truck and landed atop the GTO.
“Donut!” I called.
Thwum!
She and Corky reappeared on the road next to the truck. Donut had just cast her level 17Puddle Jumperspell. Right at the beginning, Zev had warned us that a lot of the movement spells wouldn’t work correctly. She could teleport herself but not Corky back to the truck, so she’d done the next-best thing. I jumped out, careful of the edge of the hole, to pick up the knocked-out half-mantaur and pull him inside, coughing.
The heat just outside the containment staggered me. I had not been expecting it to be this hot. Donut whimpered as she bounded back inside, her fur smoking after just a few seconds.
The containment of the GTO, I realized, wasnotactive, and the man’s suit was burning hot. He was still alive, but he was cooking in his suit and would have died if we hadn’t grabbed him.
I didn’t stop to think about Rapture and Genesis burning in their crashed car as the cocaine-fused action figures tore at them.
“Make room! Make room!” I called, shoving Grigori forward. He didn’t move, and I unlatched his belt and pushed again, causing the tall mage to stumble. “Sorry!”
I pulled down the table we’d hastily affixed to the cabinets just for this. I dropped the large, suited mantaur heavily on the platform. His entire form was smoking.
“Yo, I’m Toot-Toot,” a new voice said.
It was one of the dolls. She’d hitched a ride, her hand melted into the PVC of Corky’s suit.
“Do you want to know how to get some cash out of your teacher? False accusations are a great way to... Errrppp.”
I grabbed it and tossed it out of the back of the truck, but in doing so, I accidentally ripped a large patch of suit away. A bulge of red guts popped out of the hole like biscuit dough. A health bar appeared.
“Gah! Donut, heal him!”
I realized I’d basically trapped myself in the back of the truck. I wouldn’t be able to get to the front without literally crawling over the prone figure of Corky. “Porky, get on the table! Grigori! We’re doing this!”
The crate next to the truck broke open, and a swarm of soldier action figures started pattering on the side and roof of the truck. Several spilled out onto the ground, some falling back down into the hole. All were smoking and melting in the heat.
“Is the shield not working? Is it not turned on?” I called.
“It says it’s on!” Dong called back.
I remembered that pass-through warning on the last doll. I assumed that had had something to do with it. If that meant they could get through the shield, then wereallyneeded to go.
“My princess! Please get back in your seat!” Dorota called.
Donut healed Corky with a scroll, but his health continued to seep. She fired a missile over my shoulder at something unseen.“Carl, how are they cocaine elementals when they’re action figures! This doesn’t make any sense!”
“It doesn’t matter! Come on, Porky! Dong, get moving!”
But Dong was turned all the way in the seat, eyes on the makeshift table. “Corky! Corky!” he called.
Corky remained unconscious and had theStrung Outdebuff. But Grigori, wobbling on his feet, now stood over him and was also casting something on the mantaur as Porky pulled himself next to the other half.