by Jason Cheek
“This had better be good. Otherwise, we are all dead.” Muttering under her breath, Miya pressed her palm against her forehead shaking her head tiredly. Still not looking at me, she raised her voice. “Plan first and then I’ll let you know our situation.”
So I told her. I’d been working on the plan that I’d come up with for most of the time I’d been trying to escape the Worg Riders. On my way through the Delonshire Mine entrance, I’d seen the completed messages pop up for the two quests: Rescuing captured children of House of Kayden captured by the invaders (Secret-Quest Part 2) and Rescuing the House of Kayden NPCs that have been captured by the northern invaders (Secret-Quest Part 1), so I knew that all of my people had made it back to Requiem. That meant, Ulia and Theric were already working with Lady Chiara and Sergeant Maerwen to make everything happen on my peoples’ side. Now I just needed to get Miya’s buy-in so I could hold up this end of the plan. Finishing up my spiel, I furrowed my brow at Miya’s hesitant expression.
“Trust me, Miya. It’s a good plan.”
“It would be if the Devil Dogs Clan didn’t make up a fifth of our defenders.” Miya retorted hotly, her voice rising with every word. “Even with every able-bodied civilian, guard and newfar that didn’t join The Syndicate Clan’s attack against the town, we don’t have enough bodies to man the barricades with any kind of substantial force.”
“What the hell are you talking about? There are all kinds of non-Syndicate newfar that could be used to man the barricades.” I sputtered at her in confusion.
“That’s because most of the newfar fought against Delonshire alongside The Syndicate guild!” Miya snapped right back.
“Wow, now that’s smart!” I shouted right back. “Those newfar that fought against Delonshire probably only did it on pain of death. The Syndicate guild is a gang of bullies that have been harassing everyone traveling beyond the outskirt of Delonshire, killing anyone who doesn’t kowtow to their fucked up rules. Those newfar that you’re complaining about only want to fight against the invaders.”
“Honestly, if I were you, I’d collect all the newfar from the graveyard and tell them that they can either be: killed on the spot and be banned from town, imprisoned for a week for their crimes or work off their debt to Delonshire by defending the town against the Goblin invasion. Right there, you’d solve your problems with the Goblins and The Syndicate in one fell swoop. Otherwise, you’ll just drive those disgruntled newfar further into The Syndicate’s hands. It’s your choice Captain Faelwen.”
For a long second, no one said a word as Miya savagely drew her sword and pressed the point to my throat. Her enraged face flushed beet red. I saw Neysa tense to spring at the Captains back as I mentally told her to stand down, even though I could tell from the guards’ eyes surrounding us that they expected their Captain to kill me then and there. I, on the other hand, wasn’t especially worried. From our interactions during the training simulation and afterward in the world, I knew she wasn’t as volatile as she portrayed herself to be in front of her guards. There was a softer more reasonable side to her too. Leaning forward, she whispered harshly into my ear proving my point.
“Just once I want you to be wrong so I can wipe that sardonic grin off your face.”
“But, not today,” I whispered back softly so that only she could hear my words.
“But, not today.” She agreed, whispering back. “Today, I need you to be right.”
“I am, at least in this,” I told her as she removed the blade from my throat and stood back up straight.
New Quest! Save Delonshire from the Northern invaders!
Delonshire stands in the way of the Northern invader's path in taking the Light Elves’ Kingdom. Stop the invasion and save Delonshire from destruction.
Objective: Stop, drive back or kill the Northern invaders and save Delonshire.
Warning! This quest will fail if Delonshire falls!
Difficulty: Nightmare.
Reward: Depending on how you complete this quest each option has its own unknown and unique rewards.
Accept: Yes / No
Immediately the quest window popped open in my HUD as Miya's voice bellowed out. “Release him!” Turning around, she began yelling out orders as she strode away. “Sergeant Traovudd began releasing the newfar following Ironwolf’s directions. Corporal Ibohanydd, deploy the newfar as needed once they are released.” Without hesitation, I accepted the quest with a smile on my face. Tuning the rest of Miya’s shouted commands out, I hopped down and jogged over to where Thomas and Kenzie were watching with Neysa at my side.
“Wow, that totally didn’t go the way I thought it would,” Thomas muttered with an incredulous shake of his head as he eyed Neysa somewhat nervously, while Kenzie grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me in for a hug. Holding me back, the sexy rogue gave me an arched look.
“So, Thomas said something about a secret mission for the Devil Dogs?”
“Yep, you know the usual. Fighting off an invading army of monsters to save the kingdom.”
“The quest is to save Delonshire, not the kingdom.” Thomas quipped without taking his eyes off Neysa.
“If the Northern invaders roll over Delonshire, where do you think they’ll go next?” I shot back. “How many villages and towns will be wiped out before the Light Elves can react? If we don’t stop them here, the invaders will make it all the way to the Capital of Amyalneas before they’re stopped.”
“You know they won’t stop there,” Kenzie added thoughtfully. “Once the Goblins know that their forces pushed that far into Light Elf territory, they’ll just keep on coming. This whole area will be a no man's zone within a week.”
“Heh, make that no-elf zone. Could make for some interesting questing though.” Thomas said with a smirk as Kenzie smacked him on the shoulder.
“That’s not even funny. What about all of the NPCs that would be slaughtered.”
“They’re NPCs, that’s what supposed to happen to them,” Thomas answered back with a shrug. “It’s all part of the storyline.”
“How about looking at it another way. Having the Light Elves knocked so far back will put any players looking to build up their guilds for the Real-Time Strategy aspect of the game in the hole. Our whole area will be open for the taking from the other kingdoms’ players. Not to mention any support we’d need to conduct an attack in the area will be wiped out. Besides, wouldn’t it be better to keep our kingdom’s infrastructure intact and fight against the Northern invaders from our own castles on the borders and conduct our excursions into the Northern territories from there?”
“Yea, that would be pretty cool if any of us had a castle to defend and use as a base of operations,” Thomas said with a shrug. “But, unless we get a huge influx of new members, I doubt the Devil Dogs will ever be at that level.”
Sliding up next to me, Kenzie looped an arm around my waist smiling at me. “Why Star, do you have a castle hiding in those leather pants or are you just happy to see me?”
“What would you say if I said yes?” I replied, ignoring her use of my new handle with the Devil Dogs.
Rolling her eyes, Kenzie pushed me away laughing as Thomas snorted in derision. “Yea right, you have your own castle.” Seeing my intense look and unsmiling face, he did a double take as the smile died on his lips. “No way! You’re shitting us, right?”
“Wait … errr … what?” Kenzie stuttered looking back and forth between us as a shit-eating grin split my face.
“Sooo, let’s say for instance that I do have a castle on the Northern border that I could use some friends’ help defending and which just happens to be in a good position to strike into the Northern territories. Think the Devil Dogs would be interested?”
“Oh snap,” Kenzie said suddenly serious. “You’ve gotta tell us how you managed that.”
“You lucky sonofabitch.” Shaking his head, Thomas met Kenzie’s eyes. Seeing her nod in agreement, he turned to me holding out his hand. As we clasped wrists, he spoke with a smi
le. “You can count on the Devil Dogs having your back.” He stepped back so I could shake with Kenzie. Once that was done, I hooked an arm around each of their shoulders pulling them in close.
“Now, what do you guys think about Death Knights and Necromancers?”
***
It only took us about twenty minutes to go over everything and gather up the rest of the Devil Dogs before moving out. Players and NPCs alike watched us as we ran down the center of town fully armed in a double-line. Everywhere we looked NPCs were taking up positions on the barricades or hurrying to roll logs into place while the players ran towards the barricades that were under heavy attack. Most of the players gave us curious stares or commented on how the Devil Dogs were cowards running away from the action. While some of the ex-marines took offense, most just shrugged off the comments with a knowing smile as they ran on.
I, for my part, ran next to each DDs to teach them Dark magic and all of the level one spells that I could while Neysa stayed glued to my side. Still, training fifty players takes time. Still, by the time we made it to the backside of town where we’d planned our exit, I’d nearly finished training everyone. Cutting through the half-constructed barricades, we made our exit from the backside of town and were racing for the edge of the forest when a cry of alarm rose up behind us.
Looking over my shoulder, I swore at the mass of Worg Riders heading for us as Thomas and Kenzie began shouting out warnings to their people. Between the Goblins and their Worgs, we were easily outnumbered two to one. Even worse, the enemy was a good eight to nine levels higher than all but Neysa and I. Eying the distance to the edge of the treeline, I began shouting out orders while dragging Thomas and Kenzie after me.
“We’ll make our stand at the treeline! All melee in front! Ranged fighters, casters, and healers to the rear!”
Shaking off their initial shock, the Devil Dogs began falling into their individual ranks. Thomas took the lead for the warriors, while Sara took charge of the mages as Kenzie and the rest of the rogues faded into stealth which was a quarter of our battle line. As the various classes formed up into four separate ranks, I stood in front of the Devil Dogs shouting.
“Everyone remember, if you die respawn back in town and make your way back here as soon as possible!”
Turning back to face the enemy, I hurriedly put all of my free Attribute Points into Intelligence as I drew the massive Greatsword of Corruption from my back and stuck it into the ground at my feet. Behind me, I could hear Neysa’s rumbling growl growing in her throat. Meeting her golden eyes, I focus on sending her a mental command. ‘Guard my back.’ It was almost like I could understand her reply as she gently nudged my face with her wet nose. Ruffling her fur, I turned back to face the enemy once again. As the Worg Riders closed to within twenty-five yards, I held up both hands and began slamming my Flurry blasts across the front of the charging ranks of mobs as the rest of the ranged classes released their attacks.
Our line lit-up with fire and ice along with a smattering of arrows. While the fury of blasts coming from our small line looked impressive, most did little to no damage due to the level difference between the Devil Dogs and the Worg Riders. Even so, I made up some of the difference as Worgs and Goblins alike staggered from my icy wrath as Flurry blast after Flurry blast slammed into their battle line like a wrecking ball, noticeably breaking up the charge as the Worgs in the rear found themselves uncontrollably slamming into their packmates that had suddenly slowed down to half speed.
The damage I was pushing out in one way was ridiculous. I saw more than a few of the Devil Dogs standing next to me do double-takes at the power of my attacks. Each icy blast dropped the Worgs’ Hit Points down by half and the Goblins’ to nearly a quarter as I almost single-handedly chewed up the front leading ranks of the charge.
The reason I was able to push out so much damage was because the Worg Riders were a level below my own. Although still technically green, the mobs should have been gray with my added bonus stats from the P&M exam. The only reason I wasn’t one-shotting the Worgs and double-shotting the Goblins was that my spells matched my actual level. Still, the P&M exam did give me one major boost. With my current Mana Pool, I was now capable of pushing out up to thirty-two blasts before my Mana was dry.
I’d nearly drained my Mana by the time the blunted charge smashed into our thin line. Most of the melee fighters held their ground, except for the lower level warriors like Terry and Matt who were only level 16. They were barely more than a speed bump as the Worgs pounced on top of them in a spray of blood and gore. Before the mobs could completely trample through our lines, Sara command to ‘Lock them down!’ rang out in raid chat as I and the rest of the mages released our Frost Nova blasts nearly simultaneously.
The results were instantaneous. An icy wall of frozen mobs formed in front of our raid in the blink of an eye. A solid barricade that forced the rest of the charging Worg Riders to a crashing stop in a mass of limbs, snapping fangs and flailing weapons. Most of the front rank of mobs were frozen for only a few seconds before being scattered across the ground from the charging ranks behind them. Not giving their enemies the time to recover, the Devil Dogs leaped onto their helpless foes in a savage display of violence.
The twenty-five rogues that Kenzie led suddenly appeared from out of stealth triggering their Sneak and Backstab attacks as most of the Goblins and Worgs I’d initially targeted suddenly dropped dead. Instead of trying to disappear back into stealth, Kenzie led her rogues into the scrum of Goblins and Worgs trying to get back to their clawed feet. The blood flew as daggers slashed and stabbed in lightning fast combos as the rogues leaped onto the mobs two and three at a time.
By then I was already moving. Wrapping my hands around the hilt of my two-handed blade, I waded into the chaotic melee with overpowered, sweeping strikes as blood, arms and heads flew into the air around me with every swing. Plowing into the middle of the scrum, I released the Greatsword of Corruption’s special attack, Blood Plague. Instantly a blood red mist billowed out from my blade as I cleared a swath of Worg Riders from around me with Neysa fangs snapping at any Goblin that dared to approach me from behind.
Screams of rage and pain rang out around me as the Devil Dogs fought for their lives. While our initial attack had stopped the Worg Riders charge completely, there were just too many of the green bastards for us to fight. Everywhere I looked, rogues were being dragged to the ground and gutted by overwhelming numbers. The Goblins seemed to be focused on running each and every one of the slippery players down before engaging against our main force.
At first, I didn’t understand Kenzie’s strategy. As soon as the Worg Riders made it back to their feet, the rogues scattered through the enemy’s lines like insane berserkers. They didn’t seem to be focusing their attacks on any one particular Goblin or Worg. Instead, they ducked and dodged through the ranks striking out with disabling combo attacks before moving on to the next target.
Whatever Kenzie’s strategy was, it seemed to be working. At least for keeping the weight of the enemy’s forces from closing in and immediately overwhelming our defensive line. In my HUD, I watched the lives of the rogues blink out one by one until Kenzie was the last. Her black, leather-clad body ducked and weaved between the enemies around her as blood sprayed into the air like the mist from a fountain.
One second Kenzie was diving to the ground in-between two Goblins as her blades sliced into each mobs’ heel and knee, hamstringing her targets as she rolled back to her feet. Leaping into the air, her blades sank into a third Goblin’s sword arm that was standing before her. As the mob dropped its blade, she ducked and spun around another two Goblins attacks in a beautiful dance of death, but before she could strike out again, a jagged blade suddenly pierced her chest.
For a split-second, Kenzie was suspended in midair as her Hit Points plummeted to almost nothing. Wrenching her entire body backward, I saw her fly off the jagged blade as her daggers pierced through the backs’ of the Goblins she’d just hamstrung
. As she shoved herself back into motion, I saw another Goblin blade catch her on the side. The blow killed her instantly, but still the mobs she attacked hacked and tore at her lifeless corpse. While it was gruesome to watch, I realized she and her people had done their best to give us the time we needed to survive.
Shaking away the battle haze that had momentarily driven me deep into the enemy’s ranks, I fell back towards the Devil Dogs’ defensive line quickly sheathing my Great Sword and drawing my Dark Blade of Lord Kayden as I scooped up a Goblin shield. Eying the Mana of the mages, I began calling out orders as Neysa howled out in challenge at the enemy surrounding us.
“Sara! Before your people run out of Mana, I want their last spells to be Soul Stone and Raise Zombie! Everyone else, you got to keep those mages alive!”
“Raise Zombie is a three-minute cast!” Sara yelled back in outrage as she uselessly continued blasting mobs with her Flurry spell.
“Goddammit, listen to me!” I snapped back as I angrily thrust my blade through a Worgs neck and kicked its corpse away. “It’s more than your doing now. Your people can continue burning up Mana on useless spells that look good but can’t do dick against an enemy ten times your level, or you can start building up our forces with undead that can actually fight back. Which is it going to be?” Turning away from me with a growl, Sara began issuing orders to the rest of the mages as I focused on fighting for my life.
Three minutes is an eternity in a fight … especially in a losing fight. The Goblins kept pushing us back as our ring of fighters grew smaller and smaller as more Devil Dogs were hacked to death. By now I was covered in bleeding wounds as the fighting became a pure hackfest. If not for Neysa watching my back, I would have surely been dragged down by the mass of Goblins coming at us. While my Hit Points were only down to about half my total health, most of the Devil Dogs around me were down to a quarter of their health if not lower. The four priests at the center of the formation were casting non-stop, doing their best to keep the surviving members of their guild alive and in the fight, but it was quickly becoming a losing battle as everyone’s Mana began bottoming out.
