by Seth Ring
Nova Terra: Liberator
SETH RING
Nova Terra: Liberator
Copyright 2020 by Seth Ring.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.
Copyright: September, 2020.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
1st Edition
Table of contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty-One
Chapter Sixty-Two
Chapter Sixty-Three
Chapter Sixty-Four
Afterword
Chapter One
Thorn could hear the yells before the village came into sight. Flickers of the cultists' red robes could be seen through the trees like dancing flames, the acrid smell of smoke promising chaos. Gripping his tetsubo tightly, Thorn broke through the trees into the clearing around Treefell village, his blood beginning to boil as he took in the devastation.
“Phobos Squad, sweep left. Deimos, sweep right!”
As his deep voice cut through the din of battle, Thorn charged forward into the village, the Titan Squad rushing in behind him. Treefell village was a total mess. Everywhere Thorn looked he could see players and Freemen fighting against red-robed Wolfkin cultists who were armed with scythes and sickles.
[Shadow Dash]
His body blurring, Thorn sped up, arriving next to a red-robed cultist who was looming over a prone Freemen Ranger. A backhand strike sent the cultist flying into a wall, ending its life instantly. Leaving the Ranger to his teammates, Thorn surged forward again, knocking an incoming slash to the side and ending another cultist’s life with a stab of the spiked end of his metal tetsubo.
A stream of razor sharp shards of ice flew past Thorn’s head, ripping into a group of three cultists who had just stepped out of an alleyway. Slowed down by the freezing effect, the cultists attempted to retreat only to find themselves jumping into a nest of razor sharp vines that Seven Twisted Leaves summoned behind them. The whipping vines wrapped around their limbs, sharp thorns binding them in place long enough for Mina’s [Ice Spikes] to finish the job.
“Tanks to the front! Let’s do a clean sweep but watch out for the cursed blades.”
“Thorn, there are a group of loggers down by the water to the west!”
“I’m on it!”
Activating [Predator’s Leap], Thorn vanished from where he stood with a hiss of steam. Launched through the air, he kicked off from the roof of one of the buildings that lined the street, sending himself flying over it into a large open space. His maneuver came at the cost of a hole in the tiles, but he paid the damage he caused no mind and charged toward the lake that was southwest of Treefell.
By the edge of the water he could see a large group of players and natives trapped by a big crowd of the red-robed cultists. Storming forward, Thorn threw back his head and howled, the eerie sound rapidly spreading across the village and giving everyone pause. The cultists in front of the lake were close enough that the stunning effect of his ability caused them to fall into a stupor just long enough for Thorn to barrel into them.
Swinging his tetsubo around him, Thorn began to crush cultists left and right. Almost all of the cultists were unarmored and carried only basic monk weapons, the equivalent of the Temple of the Moon’s disciples. However, Thorn had spotted a few who seemed to have advanced classes, carrying both armor and scythe-like blades.
“Slay the false ruler!” one of the large Wolfkin cultists cried out, raising a strange looking skull up in the air. Pointing it at Thorn who was swiftly carving his way through the crowd, the cultist began to shout unintelligibly, his saliva spraying. Soon those around him picked up his frenzied chant and rushed toward Thorn with wild abandon. Beset on all sides, Thorn realized that there were more cultists than he had thought.
Abruptly stopping his charge, Thorn jumped backward, sweeping his weapon behind his back to ensure that he was not being surrounded. More and more cultists streamed together as they heard the skull-wielding Wolfkin’s chant, forming a field of crimson as they gathered by the lake. Taking another step back, Thorn could sense that he was soon going to be back up against a building. Just as he was about to take a chance to rush to one side, a large ball of razor sharp ice dropped in front of him, quickly ripping apart any cultists that tried to approach.
“Sheesh, can’t you wait for us?” Mina grumbled as she cast her spell from the roof behind Thorn.
“You made it, didn’t you?”
“This time I did. What have I told you about thinking you are invincible?”
“Ha, if I thought I was invincible I would be in the middle of the crowd, wouldn’t I?” Grinning under his helmet, Thorn felt a spectral force wrap around his body, turning aside the attacks of the few cultists who were still able to reach him. “Thanks, Delmore. How is the rest of the village?”
The Titan Squad’s Tigerkin Spirit Guide paused his mumbling to check his messages.
“Deimos Squad is reporting all clear. Phobos has run into some trouble. Some sort of giant Werewolf. I’ll send the rest of the Titan Squad to help them contain it.”
“Thanks. Alright folks, let's get these small fry cleaned up.”
With the help of his teammates, it did not take Thorn long to clear the large crowd
of cultists, causing the loggers who had been saved to break out into cheers. After taking quick stock of the situation, Thorn led everyone to meet up with the other two squads and headed for the next spot where Peregrine had spotted groups of cultists.
It was not until nearly six hours later that Thorn and his friends finally made it back to Treefell. They had cleared out a large portion of the center of the valley, paying careful attention to the logging camps that surrounded the town. Accepting a bowl of stew from one of the guild’s cooks, Thorn plopped down next to a crackling campfire.
Close to a thousand fires dotted the area near the lake, all surrounded by players from Nova Luna. The entire guild had mobilized to try and deal with the threat of the cultists who were overrunning the valley. Thankfully, the swift response seemed to be helping to stabilize the situation. Nova Luna was well organized, largely due to Corvo’s administration, the benefits of which were starting to manifest themselves.
As an earl of the first class, Thorn was allowed to employ an army of 25,000 soldiers. Ten thousand of those soldiers formed the core fighting force of the army. These professional players who were under contract with Nova Luna had been formed into battalions, with each battalion holding a thousand players. The battalions were divided further into companies of one hundred, and then units of ten.
The remaining fifteen thousand soldiers were not players at all but were native Wolfkin who had been recruited to protect the valley. At first, Thorn wanted to recruit a full army of players since players tended to be stronger than natives, but Corvo had quickly reminded him that players carried an inherent risk. Additionally, if he was going to leave Captain Del’har in charge, he needed an army that would properly take orders from the native Wolfkin.
True to her promise, Athena had sent over a whole team of bodyguards with military backgrounds who helped create a solid structure for the development of Thorn’s army. While there were other player organizations that had military style structures, the Greymane Valley army was the first official player army in Nova Terra.
“Everyone has reported back, my lord. The operation can be considered a success.”
Putting the last bit of a loaf of bread in his mouth, Thorn looked up and saw Captain Del’har saluting. Next to him stood Henry and a few other bodyguards that his aunt had sent to him. The military players had taken to the game like fish to water, but it was obvious from how their eyes were roaming that they were still somewhat shocked by all of it.
“Good. Let’s talk about our next move.”
Standing up, Thorn brushed off his pants and headed into a large tent that had been erected nearby. Even though the town of Treefell was nearby, both Corvo and Captain Del’har had requested that they use this opportunity to train the players in proper camp discipline. They only had a few weeks until they deployed to Rasyn where they would be sleeping in tents so it was a great time to whip all of their soldiers into shape. Ducking through the tent flap, Thorn approached the large map that was suspended in the center of the room. Once everyone had entered, Captain Del’har cleared his throat and began to speak.
“My lord, the threat of the cultists has been largely contained, though it would take very little for another major outbreak to happen. We have cleared all the major towns and have started the process of sweeping the surrounding forest. Without any clear understanding of the numbers of the cultists it is very hard to determine what sort of impact we’ve had, but I’m confident that, at the very least, we’ve prevented mass outbreaks.
“Our casualties are fairly significant however, with six hundred and thirty-three dead and nearly a thousand wounded by the corrupting attacks. Thankfully the corruption is easy to spot so we shouldn’t have any major trouble with infections once we’ve cleared out an area. The teams at the farthest end of the valley are doing a sweep to ensure that we are able to keep the threat contained around the old temple.”
“What are we doing with the wounded? Have we been able to figure out a way to heal them?” Frowning, Thorn rubbed his forehead. Thankfully the sixteen hundred wounded soldiers were all players who could respawn, but the number of dead and wounded still gave Thorn a headache.
“No, but we are putting them to good use.” This time it was Henry who spoke up. Dressed in armor that looked like a cross between a knight and a roman legionnaire, Henry was Thorn’s former bodyguard, who had taken the name Hasta in-game and seemed to be having the time of his life. “We transferred everyone who was wounded to the front lines and gave them a bounty of one gold per cultist they kill. Since they are going to die from the corruption we might as well get our money's worth out of them.”
The thought of a thousand money hungry players with nothing to lose gave Thorn the chills. A bounty was a great motivator for players, and many soldiers who were not wounded had immediately volunteered to rush forward with their companions.
“When do we think the sweep will be done?”
“It should be done by tomorrow night, my lord. Queen Akira’s people have proved to be an invaluable asset in hunting down the cultists hiding in the forests, and the teams are making good time. Once we’ve finished the sweep, we will establish our perimeter here.” Captain Del’har traced a claw across the map, drawing a line around the abandoned Temple of the Moon.
“Excellent. We don’t have very long before we’re going to get the summons from the duke, so we need to clean this up quickly. We need to scout out what we are going to be facing when we go after Mayari, but we also can’t afford to throw players away. I have a feeling that we’re in for a multi-stage engagement here.”
“Yes, my lord. I’ll have the New Moon Walkers begin their scouting.”
Continuing to discuss their options, Thorn’s sharp ears heard footsteps outside of the tent and looked toward the entrance.
“Come in.”
The tent flap lifted and a Wolfkin soldier stepped inside, pounding his chest in salute.
“My lord, there is an exceptionally large wolf calling himself Maugrim at the edge of the camp. He is asking to speak with you.”
“Excellent, please lead the way.” Smiling broadly, Thorn looked at his officers. “Maugrim is an ally, hopefully. Come, let's go meet with him.”
Following the soldier, Thorn and the others weaved their way through the camp. As they walked, Hasta explained how they had organized the units. Each campfire was assigned to a pair of units, with fifty campfires belonging to each company. The campfires were set out in neat squares with clear space to walk between them.
While it had been a challenge to get the players into the military mindset, the fact that this was quite literally their job had made it much easier to keep them organized. A small army of support personnel was assigned to cooking and assisting the ten battalions, though many of the support roles that an army would have in the real world were made unnecessary by the system. As it was, each campfire was assigned a cook, an alchemist, and a porter.
Seeing a porter packing away item after item into their inventory as they cleaned up after the cook, a flash of nostalgia shot through Thorn. It really had not been that long since he had taken on that role for Ouroboros’ team. At the same time it felt like an entire lifetime ago.
“Greetings, Lord Greymane.”
“Hello, Maugrim.” Brought back to the present by the giant wolf’s raspy voice, Thorn grinned.
“My master has brought us to assist you in your fight against the red-robed ones.” Maugrim gave a scornful glance at the army arrayed behind Thorn. “Judging from the quality of your soldiers, you need all the help you can get.
“And here I assumed from your greeting that you were here to ask for a favor.”
“Heh, only that you would complete the quest quickly. The longer you wait the more dangerous it will be for the whole valley. Still, you seem to have recovered much of your strength.”
Thorn was not sure if it was his imagination or not, but the huge wolf seemed to be maintaining a clear seven feet between them. Every time Thorn
moved forward Maugrim took a corresponding step backwards or to the side. Given how much the Children of the Moon valued strength, Thorn could ask for no better indication that he had been improving.
“Do you have any defenses against the corruption that the cult is spreading? If not, I’m not sure that I’m comfortable with you fighting.”
“We fear no corruption,” growled another deep voice as more giant wolves stalked out of the darkness.
“Sure, but there is no reason for you to die because of it. I’m not interested in telling your mom that I got a bunch of you killed.”
“Worry not, Lord Greymane, the corruption will not harm us. Our connection with the master will protect us.”
“Huh, convenient. Oh, that reminds me.” His eyes brightening, Thorn gestured for Captain Del’har and Hasta to step forward. “I have something to do back at the temple. While the sweep is being completed, you two are in charge. Make sure to keep our casualties down as much as possible. Oh, and talk to Maugrim here to figure out the best way to coordinate containing the cultists. I’ll be back by tomorrow afternoon.”
Without waiting for a response, Thorn glanced up at the sky and then took off running for the citadel.
Chapter Two
The moon was high in the sky when Thorn finally reached the gate. Due to the cultist threat, the gates had been closed at dusk and a squad of guards had been posted at the small door. When they saw Thorn’s massive figure, they grasped their weapons tightly and lowered them across his path, forcing him to stop.
“Hold! Who goes there!”
“Earl Greymane, Lord of Moon Wolf Citadel, Avatar of the Moon Wolf, Inheritor of the Temple of the Moon, Wolfsbane, Kingbreaker, Hero, Gladiator, Friend of Earth, and Bearer of the Stone Heart.” Rapidly listing off his titles, Thorn pounded his fist against his chest in a warrior’s salute.
“Uh, e...excuse me your lordship.” The guard who had spoken stuttered, nearly dropping his spear as he returned the salute.
Chuckling, Thorn patted him gently on the shoulder.
“Haha, sorry, sorry. You are doing great. Great tone, very stern. Keep up the good work.”
Entering the citadel, Thorn made his way into the temple quarter, greeting the disciples guarding the gate. Just like the rest of the citadel, the Temple of the Moon had grown exponentially and was now larger than the whole citadel had been when Thorn first bought it. From a simple complex it had grown into a whole series of interconnected neighborhoods and sub-temples.
