by Jason Cheek
“Tell me about it,” I replied, giving him a friendly clap on the shoulder. “I about shit my pants when Lyeneru changed into a Werebear.”
“Yeah, tell me about it.” Thomas said, stifling a laugh.
Walking out into the courtyard, I saw that most of the Kayden Troopers had already left for the far side of the valley. There was only a group of two hundred left in the fields outside of the keep. Obviously, Assault Leader Dell had put the plan we’d discussed into motion and had only left a small rearguard as an escort. As a group of five began heading our way, I looked back at my friends.
“Does anyone feel like scouting ahead or do you want to wait around to watch the travel mode effect?” I asked, making air quotes for travel mode.
“Yeah, because that last stealth mission went off so well,” Jill said, with an annoyed sniff.
“Oh, poor Jilly. Did you get too many booboos on your last quest?” Hefe asked, scrunching up his lips and speaking in a baby voice.
SLAP! The comment was nothing unusual for our group in real life, but obviously, Jill wasn’t in the mood for joking. AJ just gave me a look as I rolled my eyes in response. We were both thinking the same thing.
“Damn it woman!” Hefe hollered, as everyone looked around in surprise to see the Gnome holding his face in agony. The handprint that covered his cheek was bigger than his hand. His protests immediately died down as he saw the looks on Sarka, Bonnie, Jill, Krystal, and Unalia’s faces. Personally, I think it was the look on Bonnie’s face that scared him the most as his voice went up three octaves. “That really hurt …”
“What the hell, Jeff?” I asked, giving him an incredulous look. “You decided to take John’s place in our group for a change?”
“Dude, that’s not fair …” Hefe went to say, before thinking better of it and apologizing to the ladies in question who’d started reaching for their weapons. “Yo-you know me, I was just trying to be funny … no reason to get like that,” he urgently held out his hands as if to physically placate them, “I’m really … really sorry, so please don’t kill me!”
“Pppsssttt,” Jill let out a breath of disgust as she lowered her glowing hands while the other ladies slammed their weapons into their sheaths and holders. Checking first with the rest of the survivors, she caught Kenzie’s eye. “What do you think, feel like getting some XP?”
“Who feels like earning some XP for a change?” Kenzie gave a bark of laughter, as she looked back at the original stealth group and the rest of the Devil Dogs. “I know I wouldn’t mind getting a few levels?”
With an enthusiastic shout, my friends began joining Kenzie’s group and preparing to leave. To my surprise, I saw Thomas was planning on joining them on the hunt. Seeing the look on my face, the Devil Dog guild leader gave me an embarrassed shrug.
“Don’t look at me like that.” Thomas said, falling in with Kenzie as they took off at a run. “Why not get in some kills while you’re dealing with all of this fun?”
“Whatever!” I snapped in annoyance, giving all of them the finger.
“Hey man, don’t be all whiny like that. We’ll be in the area if something pops up.” Thomas said with a laugh, as he kept running farther away. Not that I actually blamed any of them for bailing on this bit of fun. All of this alliance and land management shit was boring as hell on one level. Even more so when it wasn’t directly under my control, especially after the whole shit about not getting any XP for PVP kills.
Yeah … yeah … yeah, don’t get me wrong. I fully understood the need to nix XP for PVP on one level, but in a situation like this where you’re almost forced to PVP, it sucked not getting anything that advanced your character other than loot drops and base skill increases. Honestly, you’d have thought they’d at least have honor points or some other sort of in-game recognition for your accomplishments. Otherwise, except for knowing that you trounced somebody, it was a very hollow victory.
“My Lord Ironwolf,” Assault Leader Dell said, as he gave me a fist salute along with the other four Team Leaders that stood behind him. Quickly, the veteran swordsman brought me up to speed. “I’ve sent the main force on ahead but kept the graveyard teams and rearguard in place as planned. I’ve informed the teams left in position to be ready to move out at a moment’s notice. The Uten Syn officer agreed to have her people form up next to us and I’ve had the extra weapons and armor we were able to scrounge up prepared for them at the same location. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.” He said, pointing out a spot next to our troopers.
“The rearguard have had a few skirmishes with Orc scouts.” Assault Leader Dell said, lowering his voice. “Nothing that they couldn’t handle, but that means the enemy knows where we are. Even so, it’s been quiet for the last twenty or so minutes.”
“Good work,” I said, clapping the older man on the shoulder as I looked around the area and checked the time on my HUD. It was already nine. “Are all of our people cleared out of the keep and courtyard?”
“Yes, milord.” Assault Leader Dell acknowledged.
“Then go ahead and have everyone but the northern graveyard groups join us here.” I said, coming to a decision. “We’ll be moving out in ten.”
“As you command,” Assault Leader Dell replied. Immediately, he began giving orders to his subordinates as he fell in behind me. As my people’s flying squirrels took off to deliver their orders, Neysa took her normal position at my side as Helgath’s thoughts came to my mind.
‘Those Orc Scouts will be watching for when our people pull out,’ Helgath warned, as she slid off of Neysa back to walk along beside me. As always, her clawed fingers wrapped around my bicep as she continued. ‘There’s no way they won’t be able to follow the trail that we’ll be leaving with such a large force.’
‘I know,’ I mentally replied, ‘but I don’t see any other choice. I could leave a force of zombies at either exit, but how much would that really help? Undead are not exactly effective when left to their own devices, besides, we’ll be needing as many undead as we can possibly get for evacuating Dom.’
As Helgath fell into a thoughtful silence, the Uten Syn players started pouring out of the keep and forming up where Dell had laid out the extra gear. Along with them came a number of manifest Giant Squirrels, Wolves, and Cave Bears. There was nearly twenty of each type of pet. Obviously, survivors from the battle inside the keep. As they moved out into a guard-like position, I saw a group of Kayden Troopers bringing them the extra gear Assault Leader Dell had managed to scrounge up. Between that and the gear they’d managed to recover from their keep, everyone at least was outfitted with a sword, axe, or dagger.
Armor, on the other hand, was not as prevalent. From what I could tell from the use of my Identify, it seemed like only the Guardian classes were taking the armor. It made sense in a way. At least it did once you realized the Druids were the only ones capable of transforming into living weapons. Still, it was something I mentally tucked away to talk with Krishna about later on.
‘I would suggest keeping the undead in place,’ Helgath’s mentally said, the anxiety in her thoughts completely pulling my focus. ‘If you leave the undead as a rearguard, the Orcs will not realize their handlers are no longer present. Also, the Scouts will be forced to wait until they believe they have a strong enough force to break through into the valley. That should give us enough time to put some distance between us. This should be repeated once again upon our exit from the cliffs.’
‘Thanks, Helgath. That makes a lot of sense.’ I said, momentarily pressing my palm against the back of her hand. She soaked up my praise, mentally glowing. While her words had been simple, in the realm of the mind, I saw her thoughts clearly. The plan was well thought out and would force the chasing Scouts to concentrate their forces two different times before coming after us. Besides, after all of the fighting earlier, we had plenty of Orc soul stones available to go around. Quickly, I communicated the change of orders to Assault Leader Dell just as a rumble came from the keep.
As the flying squirrels took flight once again, I watched in stunned amazement as the entire outer wall began to break down into the keep. Yeah, I know this was a video game and this was supposed to be magic, but the graphics were phenomenal. The dropping clogs of dirt, the stone walls folding up inside layers of soil and grass. The grating sound of stone-on-stone was deafening as the entire fortress began to collapse into itself like something right out of a Transformer movie.
In thirty seconds, there was just barren dirt where the courtyard and outer gate had been, while the keep itself had been reduced down to three stories. Glowing magic lines would shimmer into existence against the granite between each major reduction. At the end of a minute, the process came to a stop with a stone block sitting on the ground that was a foot in height and width and a yard in length.
I was just thinking about checking out the stone, when Krishna jumped out of the hole. Working quickly, he upended the stone and slide a backpack over the top, before scooping the bag upright. His hurried movements made me wonder if he was nervous about having the stone taken from him or if he simply wanted to get moving after everything that had gone down. It was probably a little of both after everything he and his people had been through, so instead of making him feel self-conscious, I just waited for him to finish up on his own. Shrugging into his backpack, Krishna jogged over to me with a broad smile on his face.
“Man that was awesome!” Krishna said as he came to a stop in front of me. “How did that look from the outside?”
“Pretty awesome,” I admitted with a grin. “Better than any CGI special effects I’ve ever seen in any movie.”
“You know what’s crazy?” Krishna asked, holding his backpack out to me. “It’s only like a hundred pounds.”
“Damn, that’s insane,” I agreed, hefting the backpack to get an idea of the weight, before handing it back. “How are you supposed to reopen it?”
“One side has a piece of the glowing crystal and a bump that reminds me of one of the control knobs.” Krishna said, as he cradled the backpack in his arms and opened the top to show me. Seeing the confirmation that I’d seen what he was trying to show me, he swung his backpack back onto his shoulders just as the last of my Kayden Troopers joined us. It was the rearguard that had been watching over the entrance.
“You just have to push another hundred thousand mana into the crystal and select the unpack option.” The Moon Elf said, as he slowly looked around in surprise. “Where did everyone else go?”
“Already on their way to our next stop,” I answered, appreciating the gesture of showing me the stone. It meant he wasn’t worried about me betraying his trust. “Ready to head out?”
“Lead the way,” Krishna said with an excited laugh as we took off together for the far side of the valley. At the same time, I gave the hand signal to start up my streaming once again.
Chapter One.Eighteen
(Wednesday, May 7th / Day 17 of The World.)
We picked up the troopers at the northern graveyard fifteen minutes later, when we passed the respawn point. As we ran though, there was a number of problems I had to deal with. Mostly, it was the unorganized chaotic nature of the Uten Syn guild. I hadn’t noticed it with Krishna because it had only been him, but with a guild of sixty-eight players, things like keeping together in a formation while running instantly became a major issue.
How would a visually impaired person handicapped from birth understand marching and running in formation? Don’t give me that look. The basic concept of marching was easy enough to comprehend, but the actual implementation was another story altogether. Unless, you’d spent time in a marching band or a military organization.
I learned the basics myself during the six months I was in the Explorers. I’d checked out the pre-military group to get an idea of how being in the military would be like. Basically, it was the next level up from Scouts. At the time, I thought that would be the only way I could leave my abusive family and have a place to live, before I started making enough money from gaming to move out on my own.
Surprisingly enough, once I explained the concept and they were able to see it in practice with my Kayden Troopers; they were able to copy it readily enough. To say I was impressed would have been an understatement. It also brought on a whole discussion about the psychology of marching in formation. How it made the individual soldier feel. How it made the enemy watching the enemy troops advancing feel. Also, how it allowed us to easily stay and move together as a group while other units conducted their scouting missions.
Once again, that started another whole discussion. One that Neysa and Helgath helped with by showing them exactly how it was done. They immediately understood the need once we started discussing ambushes and setting traps. All of which was an important part of moving a large force through rough terrain. Thankfully, the Uten Syn players were fast learners and picked up the concepts like a dry sponge in a bucket of water.
A half an hour later, we were climbing the slope at the northern edge of the enclosed valley. One of the things, I loved about the physical characteristics of the game was being able to run up a steep slope like this without losing my breath and needing to rest. It was an amazing feeling that made you feel like a true champion.
Reaching the top of the slope brought us to the cleft, which sat midway up the mountain. Above this point, the mountain was basically an impassible cliff that rose up another fifty meters or so. Instead of immediately heading into the passageway, the Uten Syn players gathered around the edge of the plateau to gaze out upon the valley they’d called home since starting the game. Seeing their tearful faces, I silently waited as they grieved for their loss.
The cloud cover had cleared away enough for the crescent moon to light up the valley in all of its glory, although you had to manually switch off Darkvision to see it properly. The forests and fields looked so peaceful from up here in the moon’s shimmering light. I could even make out a nearly hidden stream running down the center of the valley that was hidden from view from the southern ridge.
Seeing the crowd of tear-faced newfar, Assault Leader Dell looked at me questioningly as if to ask what was going on. Instead of answering, I waved for him and the rest of the troopers to continue on. As the last trooper disappeared into the crevice, I turned to Angie and Krishna who stood to either side of me.
“We’re never going to be able to come back here, are we?” Angie asked, her choked-up voice full of emotion. “No matter what happens in the future, those assholes have taken our home away from us.”
“More or less,” I agreed. “Now that they know you’re here, they’ll never leave you in peace. Especially not since you beat them at their own game.”
“You beat them,” Angie spat angrily. “Without your help, we’d have remained helpless prisoners in our own home until we gave up and rerolled new characters.”
“Not anymore,” Krishna argued in a low voice.
“I didn’t see any victims when I entered your keep,” I stated in no uncertain terms. “What I saw was a group of friends willing to do whatever it took to take back their home from a bunch of PKing asshats. If you can do that without weapons or armor while you’re basically still noobs, there’s no telling what you’ll be able to accomplish in the future.”
My blunt words caused a commotion amongst the Uten Syn players. While some of the players weren’t sure how to take my hard words, the majority of the players seemed to appreciate my forthright attitude. After being treated with kid gloves for most of their lives, there was a certain appreciation for being spoken to as an equal.
I didn’t disrespect them by coddling or speaking down to them, neither did I treat them like they were less than capable of learning how to be good players. No, I treated them just like I would’ve anyone else that was part of my group. There was no apology coming from my lips for those that were used to being treated with kid gloves. Nonetheless, by the end of the five minutes it took for the whispered conversations between the various players
to wind down, no one was complaining about my harsh words. If anything, they stood a little taller and prouder as they came to a consensus.
“You’re a strange one,” Angie said, quickly looking back to her guildmates before continuing. “But, we’re with you all the way.” There was a low chuckle at the Druid’s words. “Show us how not to be noobs.”
“You got it,” I said, giving her a wink, before calling out. “Who feels like getting some payback against those assholes that locked you up?” My lips curved into a savage grin at the answering roar. “Then, let’s go!”
With that, I took off into the crevice that was the exit to the valley as Neysa and Helgath took the lead. The change in the energy of the Uten Syn players was catching as we raced through the night. The combination of excitement, hope, and desire for revenge was invigorating as we ran laughing through the twists and turns of the odd stone formation. To my surprise, Angie and two of her friends, Julissa and Monica, stuck to me like white on rice as they brusquely pushed ahead of Krishna and Lyeneru.
“So where are we headed to next?” Angie asked, as she matched my pace.
The hungry intensity in the three women’s eyes gave me an understanding of the mental state of the rest of the Uten Syn guild members. Not that I particularly blamed them for being wound up and wanting to kick ass. I’m sure I’d have been fit to be tied if I’d spent the last week locked up in a jail cell unable to play my game due to a bunch of jackholes.
Giving them a nod, I began explaining the situation with Domenic and how his fortress was under siege by the same group of PKers that had targeted their guild. When I went to cover the most recent events of Darom and Telrain, Angie waved those parts of my story away, saying that they’d already listened to those days on my Twitch channel. The questions started when I explained that the plan was to evac Dom and his people and bring them back to BrokenFang Hold.
