by Jason Cheek
“That’s bullshit!” Monica said, cutting me off with a growling exclamation. “Why aren’t we taking the fight to these assholes?”
“That’s because they are too many of them for us to fight head-on right now.” I said, giving her a helpless shrug.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Julissa argued, struggling to understand why I didn’t just attack the Chaos Storm Alliance head-on. “Krishna said you have a couple thousand of soldiers sworn to you as vassals.”
“That’s true, but that doesn’t mean all of them are here with me now,” I said, doing my best to explain the reality of the situation. “I only brought a thousand troopers along with me ...” I tried to not let the frustration I felt reflect in my voice at the looks that came to the women’s faces. “While it’s an impressive force, it’s not even close to what would be needed to take on an alliance of platinum-sized guilds several thousand players strong.”
“The rest of my forces are either back at BrokenFang Hold building up fortifications against future attacks, on their way to secure Palnisdale from the advancing Orc army, protecting the survivors from Telrain on their way to Darom, or currently in Darom protecting the survivors against another attack from the same PKers that attacked you.”
“Now, if I could get all of my vassals and friends in one place with the right gear and training, we’d be having a very different conversation, which is why the plan is for us to fall back to BrokenFang Hold.” I finished, as looks of comprehension came to my new allies’ faces.
Maybe it was wrong that I didn’t bring up the approaching Hobgoblin army that was heading towards BrokenFang Hold, but it didn’t change the situation we found ourselves in. Between the Chaos Storm Alliance and the invading Orcs, there wasn’t anywhere the Uten Syn guild would be safe on this side of the map. At least, if they joined me in BrokenFang Hold along with everyone else, we just might stand a chance at stopping the Hobgoblin invasion and anyone else that wanted a piece of us. Besides, they did say they were aware of my backstory, right?
“So,” Angie said, dragging out the “o” sound thoughtfully. “How are we going to help your friend if he’s in the middle of a siege of several thousand players?”
“That’s the million dollar question,” I agreed, giving her a wink. “But, I have an idea or two that might give us the break we need.”
My words caused a ripple in the Uten Syn ranks as they began excitedly talking about taking the fight to their enemies. At the same time, Angie and her friends tried to get me to tell them about the plans I’d been considering. Instead of sharing my thoughts, I waved their questions away for now, saying that my ideas weren’t completely formed yet. Not that my reluctance to talk about strategy stopped the three of them from going through all of the possible scenarios they could think of.
Partly, I think they did this because they thought that hashing out the situation would get me to talk about my own thoughts on the topic. While it was a good try, I wasn’t about to say anything that could possibly be picked up on someone’s Twitch channel to give away our assault plan to the enemy. Also, until I had a better grasp of the current situation and our available resources, I couldn’t make any solid plans. After hearing the various ideas put out by Angie and her friends, I thought Monica had the best grasp on the situation. She figured that we’d be forced to hold the line while everyone else fell back to the safety of our defensive lines. The only problem with that was that she didn’t see how that would allow us to break contact with the enemy or stop us from being overwhelmed by the enemy’s larger force.
All of those were good points, which had been troubling me since I heard what we were up against. While my Dark magic gave us options we’d otherwise not have had, I silently agreed with Monica’s analysis of the situation. If that was the only plan we could come up with to pull Domenic out, I didn’t see a battle like that ending well for any of us. It was possible that we could keep the enemy’s forces in check by creating waves of zombies and slowly wearing them down, but that left too many unknowns to make me feel comfortable. It was one thing to ambush an enemy that was ignorant of your abilities with overwhelming forces, but another one altogether to be outnumbered by a stronger force that was well aware of your forces capabilities.
Still, even if I had all of my Kayden troopers here with me now, taking on players with unknown Nightmare special abilities wouldn’t be an instant win. There was a lot of ways a battle like that could go south, and too many unknown variables to make me feel confident of an automatic win. On top of that, I’d lost the element of surprise I’d enjoyed in my previous battles. Meaning, no one was going to blindly walk into a field of corpses after seeing the fight I’d had with the Dread Pack players in Darom.
That was one of the crappy things about streaming your game play, but in a situation like this, it hardly mattered if I shared my stream of the fight or not. Gamers weren’t stupid. Any of the Dread Pack players caught in the trap would’ve shared out the same video to their friends and allies. At least, doing it on my own allowed for some compensation in the real world. Besides, I didn’t know what to expect Nightmare ability-wise from the other platinum guilds that made up the Chaos Storm Alliance. So far, I’d only been able to identify three out of the thirteen Nightmare special attacks available to the members of the alliance.
Even worse, those three Nightmare abilities were impressive as hell and focused on direct damage output. In comparison, the Nightmare special abilities of the Dark and Nature magic I now had access to would basically fall under the category of support magic. A normal classification for pet and healing style classes in most MMOs. Meaning that, even though I had a few direct damage spells, the majority of my magic trees focused on buffing up pets who then did the majority of the damage output for me.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t saying that my Dark magic was weak, because it wasn’t. One look at the results of my battles in Delonshire, Darom, and Telrain would show that wasn’t the case. It just meant that individually I couldn’t push out the shit-ton of direct damage that a Nightmare special ability like Julie’s Lightning attacks or Apoxsee’s Flame attacks could. While both direct and support classes had their pluses and minuses, most players considered the direct damage classes to be higher up on the MMO power class scale and superior for PVP.
As the women finished discussing the ideas they’d come up with, I started feeling pressured to offer up some of my own thoughts on the issue. Thankfully, it was Angie who took the heat off of me, when she asked if I had any idea how long it would take for us to reach Domenic’s fortress. Silently cheering at the change of topic, I quickly explained that we needed to pick up the Russian and Aussie guilds first, before heading for Domenic’s fortress. Seeing the surprised looks on their faces, I explained that I didn’t know the level of support we could expect from either group since we hadn’t had a chance to talk since Darom.
That mini-bombshell completely changed the direction of the discussion. I couldn’t help the smirk that came to my lips. Obviously, they weren’t as up to date as they thought with my Twitch stream. Nonetheless, I quickly brought them up to speed about the offer of help from the Aussie and Russian guilds. The immediate distrust they had in regards to the situation didn’t surprise me in the least after everything they’d been through. Their skepticism calmed down once they heard about how I’d befriended the Russians. The Aussies offer, on the other hand, had them suspicious as hell. The heated discussion was brought up short as we came out of the cleft to a massed formation of Kayden Troopers.
“Ghaaa!” Angie gasped in surprise as she came to a stumbling stop with the rest of the Uten Syn players. All of them were apprehensively looking around at the formed up ranks of soldiers. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand their shock. Hardly any of them had seen the actual force that had been used to take back their keep.
Even then, those troopers had only been a fifth of the total forces I’d brought along with me. Not to mention, it was probably the first time they’d ever actually s
een so many people at once in any one place. The only thing that put them at ease was seeing Krishna and Lyeneru casually push past to keep pace with me that helped them to get over their feelings of anxiety.
Chapter One.Nineteen
(Wednesday, May 7th / Day 17 of The World.)
“The Kayden Troopers are formed up and ready to move out, milord Ironwolf!” Assault Leader Dell reported, as he came to a stop before me and thumped his fist against his chest in salute. Behind him were four faces I was surprised to see, along with the rest of my companions and Fylreh. None of which were looking too happy.
Returning the salute, I quickly explained where I was heading and who I was going to be meeting. Pointing at the base of the mountain pass just below Domenic’s Ironheart Stronghold, I told Assault Leader Dell that I’d meet up with everyone there. As the veteran swordsman took off to carry out my orders, I turned to Sarka, Yun, Tinyr, and Unalia giving them a raised eyebrow.
“I thought you guys were going to head out and get some XP with everyone else?” I asked, suppressing the relieved smile that tried to form on my lips.
“Yeah, well,” Sarka uncomfortably said, as she flipped her hair over her armored shoulder. “How much XP do you think any of us were going to get in a raid that large?”
“What Sarka is trying to say,” Yun said, cutting his wife off with a smile. “Is that we’d rather be hanging out with our best friend instead of traipsing around the forest with everyone else being murderhobos.”
“I don’t know about best friend,” Sarka said under her breath, somewhat embarrassed by her husband’s words.
“We figured you’d want some player support along when you meet up with the Aussies and Russians,” Yun finished, ignoring his wife’s muttered comment.
“Besides, it’ll be nice to hang out as a group for a change,” Tinyr added, as Unalia silently nodded in agreement. This time, I didn’t hide the smile that came to my lips as both men gave me a shoulder bump and Unalia a friendly hug. Ignoring the annoyed look on Sarka’s face, I offered her a friendly hug too.
“Okay … okay … enough of that,” Sarka embarrassingly said, shoving me away in mock exasperation after giving me a hug. “So what’s the plan?” Before I could answer, Neristhana stepped up to me with her arms crossed over her chest.
“Why didn’t you allow us to be part of the assault?” The Gnomeling angrily demanded in a low voice as she eyed Neysa and Helgath unhappily. “I’ve sworn to protect you with my life and you just left me here twiddling my thumbs!”
“Are we suddenly not good enough to be part of your group?” Ulia demanded, stepping up beside Neristhana. Behind both women, I saw similar looks on Keela, Rayne, and Brenna’s faces as they eyed me unhappily. Even Fylreh couldn’t hide the indignation she felt at being left out of the action as her ears laid flat against her head while her tail swished aggressively from side-to-side.
“I swore an oath to be your vassal and to fight by your side,” Fylreh angrily stated, crossing her arms over her impressive chest. “Not to be an ornament arm. If this is how you honor your agreement, then I’ll lead the tribes back into the Plains of Atoll for us to take our chances there.”
Hearing those words, I instantly glanced over at Unalia and Sarka who both looked away unhappily as Yun and Tinyr choked back a knowing laugh. Burying my face in the palm of my hand, I shook my head while swearing under my breath at my female friends. “Someone has some fucking explaining to do!” Taking a deep breath, I held my hands up in a placating gesture.
“Look, it’s not that I didn’t want you to be part of the fighting,” I said, letting out a heavy sigh. “While I admit not wanting to needlessly put your lives at risk by battling newfar to save Krishna’s guildmates, I really did need people I trusted and knew were capable of fighting here guarding our route out of the valley.”
“I don’t know where all of this is coming from,” I said, clearly frustrated as I looked around at my companions’ upset faces. Already, I could see that my words were finding their mark as my companions looked at each other questioningly. “But, you know as well as I do what would have happened if the Global Brutality newfar had a chance to regroup on the outside of this cleft.”
My eyes focused on Fylreh next. “When have I ever treated you as an arm ornament?” I asked, my voice filled with ire as I pronounced the saying correctly. There was no question in my mind as to whom she’d heard the term from. Though, I couldn’t help the smile that came to my lips at her cute mispronunciation. “Do you even know what that means?” Seeing the hesitant look in Fylreh’s eyes, I continued unmercifully.
“If you want to end your oath because of my relationship with Helgath, then say it directly and stop beating around the bush. You’re free to lead your tribes back onto the Plains of Atoll any time you want, but don’t you dare accuse me of breaking my word or treating you dishonorably.”
“As for the rest of you.” My words had their intended effect as I leveled my gaze at the rest of my companions. “You asked to be my companions … and I accepted. Since then, we have fought and bled together against incredible odds. So, the next time someone runs their mouth off because they had a bad fight and are in a bitchy mood, I expect you to stand up for me instead of jumping to conclusions about the reason behind my decisions just because you missed out on one fight.” As I paused to study the guilty faces looking back at me, Neysa stepped up beside me with her hair standing on end as a growl of fury rumbled deep in her chest.
“Stop that!” I snapped in annoyance, popping her on the muzzle. The smack wasn’t in earnest. My Silver Dire Wolf was mentally connected to me as was Helgath and both were playing this to the hilt. “We don’t eat our friends!” I said, before turning back to my companions.
“Did any of the Global Brutality players show up at the graveyard outside of the cleft?” I asked in a no-nonsense tone.
“W … we fought off a large group of newfar that spawned in there,” Neristhana stuttered, refusing to look me in the eyes as she spoke. “But, we drove them off relatively quickly.”
“Aaarrrggghhh!” Everyone jumped as I threw my arms up into the air and wordlessly screamed. Letting out an angry huff, I strode through my companions as they quickly stepped out of my way. “I’m on my way to meet the Aussie and Russian newfar that have agreed to help with the rescue,” I called out over my shoulder without looking back.
“You can join me or stay here and sulk. It’s your choice!” With that said, I took off at a run between the marching troops being led by Assault Leader Dell. At the same time, I called for my twelve Orc zombies to join me.
“Damn, he fights like a woman,” I heard Angie mutter to her friends as I silently shook my head and continued on. She was one hundred percent correct. My anger was mostly an act. One that I’d mastered after a year of dating Julie. During that time, I’d learned a thing or two about turning an argument around in a fight like this, which I’d just used unmercifully to get out of a major conflict with my companions.
My friends, I mentally put air quotes around the words, were being catty. Obviously, they were trying to create a rift between me and my companions for some reason … probably due to the whole “harem incident” the other day. Although, it could be for no particular reason at all, except that they were in a bad mood after the fight. Not that it particularly mattered to me one way or the other. I’d been through both with Julie and was adept at handling that kind of response. Hence, the dirty tactics. But, no worries. Payback was a bitch and I’d get them back, I mentally promised.
Still, I couldn’t help but smile at the alarmed ruckus as I called my zombies too me. The high-level, semi-bloated corpses were not for the faint of heart as they took up a defensive position around me. Nonetheless, Krishna and Lyeneru were able to calm their friends down in short order and get everyone moving without too much of a problem. By the time everyone in our group had recalled their zombies, the Uten Syn players had shrugged off the unnatural sight like it was nothing. I guess
they didn’t have the history of zombie movies and rotting corpses to make them terrified of the undead pets like regular players would be.
Heh, wait till they saw them in action, I thought with a smirk. By the time I’d cleared the line of marching Kayden Troopers, my friends and companions had fallen in line behind me with the Uten Syn players taking up the rear as I mused over the argument. Yes, I know that I’d purposely rearranged the battle positions to keep my companions from being at risk during the attack, but I wasn’t going to admit that to anyone out loud. Sometimes, it really was better to lie. Besides, I knew the game that Jill and Krystal were trying to play, and I wasn’t about to fall into that trap. As I was mentally going over the fight, Sarka and Unalia had caught up to me wanting to talk.
“Look, neither one of us had anything to do with that shit,” Sarka said, as she matched my pace. “It was Jill, Krystal, and Kenzie who opened up that can of worms when they passed through.”
“Did you say anything in my defense?” I asked, giving them both a look as I mentally updated my payback list. “Or, did you just let them rile everyone up?”
“Screw that!” Sarka shot back without hesitation. “Why are you getting mad at us? They’re your friends. You deal with them.”
“Sorry about that,” I said, letting out a deep sigh as I waved the comment away and forced myself to calm down. “You’re right. Besides, they’re just mad about getting their asses handed to them during the fight and decided to stir up the pot about the harem thing with my companions.”
“I thought Neristhana already settled that with Jill?” Sarka asked in confusion, before seeing the look on my face. “I guess not, huh?”
“Nope,” I agreed, giving her a sad smile. “I know Jill and Krystal mean well, but ever since my breakup with Julie, they’ve been giving me shit about not being in any serious relationships. The problem they’re having now is that I’m getting along with the women in-game and it’s setting them off.”
