by Cheek, Jason
“Do we really need to be having this discussion now?” Kenzie asked in exasperation. “The whole point of this was to buy us some time to escape,” her eyes took in the circle of my friends, “not to comment on shit that’s none of your fucking business.” Making her point, she raised her voice as she scanned the entire raid. “So can we get the fuck out of here or what?”
“We’ll discuss this later and you can explain to me how Fylreh differs from your Wolf-Kin girl you’ve been sucking tongues with back on the ship,” I muttered to Phoenix whose eyes widened in surprise. As her lips defensively pressed together at my words, I raised my voice to be heard in raid chat. “Alrighty people, let’s move out while we still can!”
Giving Kenzie and Thomas a nod of thanks for the support, I headed out with my team as we took off across the top of the pass together at a fast jog, while the rest of the raid fell in behind us.
The windswept pass looked to be nearly a mile wide with craggy rocks jutting up at odd angles to either side of the main pass. Not that I really noticed much of the terrain, other than to take note of possible strategic bottlenecks that might be used in an emergency. My mind was already in full planning mode for the fighting retreat I was expecting this shitstorm to turn into, when Domenic caught up to me.
“Dude, we’ve created a new sport,” Domenic called out, “bowling for bozos!” Letting out a hard bark of laughter, he excitedly continued. “I swear it looked like her head was going to explode when my Earth Elementals wrecked her raid!”
“Yep, you’ve made an enemy for life,” I knowingly replied, thinking back to the look of hate on her face. “She’ll never leave you alone now.”
“She can go fuck herself for all I care,” Domenic said, completely unconcerned at the real life threat she posed. Especially since, most of my friends thought the in real life harassment I’d gotten after my break-up with Julie was mostly instigated by Crazy Sandra. “Besides, I have enough cameras around the house that if she tries something stupid she’ll be caught in hi-res digital color this time around.” The Gnoll at his side growled something under his breath to Domenic and the other Half-Dwarf Paladin walking with them, which caused my friend’s face turn hard and the other Half-Dwarf to snarl something ugly back while slamming his gauntleted fist into his palm for emphasis.
“Like Gutirrg and Gala said,” Domenic said meeting my eyes, “this is just the beginning of our payback against these assholes.”
Our conversation was abruptly brought up short as Fylreh came trotting up with Neysa at her side and Helgath riding the Silver Dire Wolf’s back. Seeing the nasty looks the Gnoll and Half-Dwarf gave my ladies, Domenic quickly pulled his people aside to get the situation under control before things could turn ugly. Obviously, demi-humans had their own issues with racial prejudices too, I thought with a disgusted shake of my head. Thankfully, my ladies mostly ignored the commotion as Sarka, Yun, Unalia, and Tinyr caught me up to speed on the rest of the situation with Assault Leader Dell and the rest of the troops. Not that they knew much, except that Dell was informed of a situation with the force sent to guard our escape route and had rushed off with the rest of the troops to deal with it, which was when Neristhana quietly added that the rest of my companions had joined him.
A bad feeling began forming in the pit of my stomach at what that might mean as Sarka and Tinyr started giving me a hard time for not inviting them along to help out earlier. Neristhana’s silent look could’ve peeled paint from a bulkhead. While I appreciated everyone’s offers, the problem had been a bit more complex than that. Having them along wouldn’t have helped any except for putting more people at risk for one of my half-assed schemes. Seriously, how could I ask my friends to share in that fun or permanently risk Neristhana’s life when I couldn’t guarantee that I wouldn’t be killed over and over again?
I didn’t say any of that out loud. People had to make their own decisions when it came to things like that. While I wouldn’t have stopped them from coming along, I wasn’t going to go out of my way to invite them into a possible spawn camping hell like that. While I overtly listened to my friends complain at being left behind, my mind was focused on the real question at hand. What the hell was going on with my Kayden Troopers who’d come under attack while guarding the pass? I was just about to ask Sarka or Yun to get an update for me with one of their Flying Squirrels, when Blink came flying up to me like a bat out of hell.
‘My Lord, the Orc’s vanguard has arrived. They are driving us back from the pass to Palnisdale. Without reinforcements, I fear we’ll be trapped by both enemies within the pass.’ I cursed under my breath as Assault Leader Dell’s voice came to a stop inside my head. Next to me, my companions looked over at me questioningly as Neysa and Helgath reached out for my thoughts to find out what was wrong.
This was one of the worst case scenarios that I’d been dreading ever since I’d heard that the main pass between Telrain and Ironheart Stronghold had been closed off behind us. Technically, it should’ve reduced our options for escape to the mountain trails that team one had taken. Instead, I’d chosen the more dangerous route of heading across the Isolde Line into Orc territory and probably one of the main paths of the coming invasion force. Mostly that was because it was the one route that I figured Evil Sandra would never expect for us to head for and the reason I’d sent such a large part of our force ahead to guard the pass.
Even though I’d done everything that I could to stack the deck in our favor, I knew that there was no way we could fight against the numbers that Helgath had told me about. The only hope we had was to hold out long enough for everyone to reach the pass to Palnisdale and keep ahead of the wave of death. With that in mind, I focused on Blink’s furry dark-brown face and mentally gave my reply.
‘Do your best to hold the pass to Palnisdale, we are nearly clear of the mountain portion of the pass and will be there as soon as possible.’ Giving me an affirmative chirp, Blink took off in a flurry of wings as I began calling out orders.
“Alright people,” my voice overrode the conversations going on in raid chat, “I just found out by Flying Squirrel that the Orc’s vanguard has met our forces guarding the pass to Palnisdale in battle.” Ignoring the upset murmur that instantly started up at my words, I continued in a firm voice. “If we are going to escape these assholes, we have to reach the pass to Palnisdale.” As my eyes swept over the players around me, a savage grin split my lips.
“Who’s with me on kicking Orc ass and getting phat XP while doing it?” I shouted out in challenge, as I drew the Vampiric Bastard Sword of Slaughter and thrust it into the air. The resounding cheer from my friends, the people of The World, and the new players that had joined our alliance answered me back in an excited roar as a sea of swords and axes were thrust into the air. Turning around, I took off at a run for the far side of the pass as the raid howled after me.
Yeah, I know it was a total cliché move, but one that worked perfectly for the situation we were in. Everyone in team two had been jonesing to get in on the action, instead we’d been mostly regulated to escorting Domenic and his people out of a toddler run. There’d been more than a few grumbles that we’d yet to get into any real action. So, to say that the players in the raid were ready to kick some ass and take names was an understatement as we raced across the last half mile to the far side of the pass.
Reaching the end of the pass, we started down as the rocky slope and jagged hills on the opposite side of the mountain pass came into view. Immediately, my eyes began taking everything in. The rugged land and its desolate beauty. The scattered plains intermixed with jagged hills. It would’ve been an amazing view if not for the dark stain pouring over the land as far as the eyes could see. The writhing mass covered everything. Scrub trees, thickets, and even the frozen ground itself was hardly visible. The horror of what we faced hit everyone at once as the raid slowed to a stop at the impossible sight before us.
Chapter Twenty-One
(Second Assault Group: Star and friends f
acing off against the Orc horde)
While it could’ve been an issue with our height or the distances involved, the cold fist of fear inside my chest that gripped my heart said that wasn’t the case. The invasion force was like a locust swarm devouring everything and anything in its path. In truth, the only visible differences that distinguished one portion of the undulating mass from another were the individual tribal colors and the oversized forms of what could only be trolls, ogres, and other large demi-human tribes that were part of the invasion force. It made the CGI generated army for the Battle for Minas Tirith in the Lord of the Rings movies look like a gathering of friends in comparison. Truly, it was like I was watching the approach of an unstoppable juggernaut that would consume everything in its path.
Down the slope, I saw our pitiful mass of troopers fighting for their lives against the unending mass of enemies. Tucked up at the base of a far pass, Assault Leader Dell had arrayed his forces in a hair-thin line of five hundred troopers that were backed up by three additional rows of steely-eyed troopers. From the packed ranks, waves of Enhanced Shadow Bolts slammed into the vanguard of the Orc’s invasion force like a Napoleonic firing line.
Even though the tactics had been decimating the massed charges of Orcs and creating an unreal heap of bodies across a field of death fifty yards deep, from our position on the slope, it was obvious that they were on the brink of being overrun as the Orcs continued to push forward regardless of the numbers they were losing. As we watched, the massed horde started using the bodies of their dead to push their way through the withering magic volleys. It was obvious that once they reached melee range, the Kayden Troopers below would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers alone. In that long moment all of us were trying to take in what we were actually seeing, when Hefe’s freaked out voice suddenly rang out in raid chat giving us all a jolt.
"It’s game over, man,” Hefe exclaimed, looking around at the rest of us with bulging eyes as he incredulously pointed a shaking arm at the advancing horde. “Game over!"
“Stop being a dumbass,” AJ growled in mock anger, giving the Gnome a hard shove as the rest of us looked at the two of them in surprise.
“Ah, come on, man,” Hefe complained lightheartedly, as he stumbled forward a few steps before catching his balance. “I always wanted to have a reason to say that line.” As both of them started to laugh and high-five each other, the fearful look on Jill’s face turned an angry shade of red.
“Are you both idiots,” Jill snapped, as her normally sarcastic disposition turned sour. “How in the hell are we supposed to fight something like that?” She demanded, as she turned around to face me next.
“You royally fucked us all, Jay,” Jill said in a huff, as I sheathed the two-handed sword I’d been holding. “What a great fucking plan. Let’s head into the Orc’s territory, nothing bad could possibly happen from that idiotic strategy!” As Krystal began bitching up a storm about listening to my bad ideas, they were both cut off by a distressed voice.
“For fuck’s sake, enough with the constant bitching,” Unalia said, cutting both women off as she pushed her way past Tinyr. “It’s not like you gave Star much of a choice after aggro’ing the whole valley.”
“That was an accident!” Kenzie defensively said, as she joined the conversation. “How was any of us supposed to know that we were blocking our only path out of that shithole valley?”
“WHAT? You blocked the main pathway out of my valley?” Domenic agitatedly asked, getting into the argument.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Sarka said, taking a stand next to her girlfriend, Unalia. “How about by simply looking at the map?” Seeing the looks of outrage that came to Jill, Krystal, and Kenzie’s faces, I stepped into the argument before things could get completely out of control.
“Would everyone calm the fuck down?” I shouted in raid chat, as my friends looked over at me in surprise. “Look, it doesn’t matter how many Orcs there are, the basic plan hasn’t changed.”
“The basic plan hasn’t changed?” Thomas and Krishna asked simultaneously, as Domenic angrily muttered in the sudden silence.
“If we’d stayed put, we’d have at least had a chance-“
“No we wouldn’t,” I angrily said, cutting him off. Stepping forward with Neysa, Helgath, Fylreh, and Neristhana at my side, I pointed down the slope at the ungodly horde headed our way. “Helgath already told me what was headed our way.”
“And you didn’t think to let us know that ahead of time?” Jill demanded, as I saw several angry nods around the circle.
“What part of, we have a massive invasion force of Orcs headed our way to wipe out the Kingdom of Kader, didn’t you understand the first time I said it?” I asked, as my words brought everyone up short. “I didn’t make a bigger deal about it, because nothing has changed.”
“Nothing has changed?” Kenzie demanded, as Thomas and a number of my friends silently nodded in agreement beside her. “There’s no way we can fight against that shitstorm!”
“That’s right, nothing has changed,” I repeated, pausing to look my friends in the eyes to emphasis my point. “The plan has never been to stand and fight the enemy.” Seeing the sudden confusion on everyone’s faces, I pointedly continued.
“Didn’t any of you wonder why I sent the Prince and Princess along with their forces ahead to Palnisdale instead of bringing them with us?” I asked, not waiting for an answer. “Did you ever wonder why I sent a thousand Kayden Troopers to guard our escape route instead of bringing them with us in case things went sideways with the Chaos Storm raid?” My friends traded questioning looks as I continued nonplussed. “Did you wonder why Assault Leader Dell immediately knew to take off with the rest of our forces as soon as he heard our people were under attack?” Seeing that I had everyone’s attention, I began spelling the plan out for them.
“The problem was that we didn’t know if the Orc’s invasion force would reach us before we could escape Domenic’s valley or not, so we had to keep the plan as loose as possible. After Helgath’s warning, we understood the worst case scenario was that there was no way we could fight the massive force headed our way.” I pointed down at my Kayden Troopers fighting for their lives. “Our people aren’t there to stop the horde, they’re holding the pass for the rest of the raid so we’re not trapped in-between two forces.”
“So they’re holding the pass, great?” AJ belligerently said, crossing his arms across his broad chest as my friends laughed. This was usually how planning sessions went between us, when AJ missed the point. “How do you plan to stop us all from dying after that?”
“Do you see that trail leading up into those jagged hills?” Getting several grudging nods, I continued. “Once we fall back into those rocks, their numbers won’t mean jack shit. We’ll just ride the wave and collect a shit ton of XP on our way to Palnisdale, easy-peasy.”
“What did I tell you about using surfer metaphors to explain strategy?” AJ groaned, as he covered his face with a callused hand in embarrassment.
“Easy-peasy?” Thomas asked under his breath, giving me a wink as he stepped up and clapped me on the shoulder. “You can count the Devil Dogs in,” he said loud enough for the rest of the raid to hear. Seeing a number of the Uten Syn raid members nervously looking down at the virtual sea of enemies below, a shit-eating grin came to his lips.
“Just remember, guys. It’s only a game.” As a look of understanding came to the guild members’ faces, Thomas drew his Mortician Cleaver from the sheath on his back and held it aloft. “You can’t let fear of the what-ifs stop you from living.” As the rest of the Devil Dog guild stepped forward with Sarka, Yun, Unalia, and Tinyr to stand with me, Jill glanced at AJ and Krystal as she let out a heavy sigh.
“We’re with you too,” Jill said, stepping up to me with her hands on her hips. “But if I’m spawn-killed for the rest of the day from these assholes, I’m going to make your life miserable.”
“Don’t you do that already?” Sarka asked under her breath, as Unal
ia choked back a laugh. Thankfully, neither Jill nor Krystal heard the retort as AJ silently elbowed the Warrior while walking by. Bonnie Smash gave me a wink as she and Hefe silently followed the trio.
“You can count us in too,” Domenic said, after Fluffy shouldered him a little too hard, along with the rest of my friends standing with them.
“The Uten Syn guild too,” Krishna and Angie said together, after checking with their guild as Phoenix walked up and clapped me on the shoulder.
“Thanks for the trust, everyone,” I said in all seriousness. With the decision made, I could feel a change come over the raid as I continued. “Alright people, here’s what we are going to do.”
As I quickly explained the plan, I saw grim looks come to most of the raid’s faces, especially Domenic and his Half-Dwarves since they were going to play a pivotal role in all of this. Many of the Half-Dwarves and Uten Syn members nervously glanced down at the ferocious battle going on below as I talked. Not that I blamed either of them for their initial hesitancy, the approaching horde of demi-humans was something else altogether. It hit the hindbrain on a primitive level and filled your thoughts with almost a gibbering fear. There was something about seeing the Orcs, Trolls, Ogres, and other monstrous demi-humans that kicked the nightmarish feeling up to another level.
Seeing Helgath’s white-knuckled grip on Neysa’s fur as she stared down the slope at the demi-humans that had enslaved her from birth, I stepped over and put a comforting hand on her thigh as I hurriedly laid out everyone’s parts. The weight of her yellow cat-eyes reminded me that this was a truly life and death situation for the people of the world. Not that it was going to be any walk in the park for myself, Domenic, or the Uten Syn players who were rocking the seventy-five percent realism packages either.
