by Dean Henegar
“I’ll have you know, my wares are of the highest quality. Household goods, exotic spices, magical items, and haberdashery… Phineas T. Moore sells only the best, and all at rock bottom prices. My money back guarantee is known far and wide!” Phineas began after the soldiers’ insult.
“Phineas, you’re not helping your case!” I snapped, not wishing him to go on and on. “Why are you smuggling goblins about. They are not exactly welcome in civilized lands.”.
“As I mentioned before, this is the great chief, Bugtug, and his son, Kipkip. I found the two shortly after their tribe was wiped out by the undead in the far away lands of Imix. I took them in and gave them honest work. They have even sworn a lifepact to serve me for rescuing them. I will, of course, vouch for their good behavior and I’ll have you know they are most docile,” Phineas explained. Looking at the two terrified goblins I was inclined to agree.
“Stand down, soldier,” I said to the squad that was surrounding the trader’s cart. “Phineas, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt about these two.” I indicated the cowering goblins. “But understand if they commit any crime, or cause any harm to a citizen of the Imperium, I will hold you personally responsible. You will face any punishment with them and will not be permitted to trade in any of our lands if something goes wrong. Do you agree to this?” I asked. Phineas looked at the two goblins, shook his head, and agreed to responsibility for both. The goblins hopped back into the wagon, wisely making themselves scarce.
“I assume you’re heading to Hayden’s Knoll? If so, fall in with the wagon train. There’s safety in numbers. Just make sure Daegan is ok with it first,” I advised, and Phineas moved to plead his case to Daegan to let him join the caravan.
“Now soldier, you mentioned trouble with raiders and I find this important portal guarded by only an understrength squad without even the most basic of defenses. My camp at night is better prepared for an attack than this place. Explain yourself and let me know why I shouldn’t bust you down a rank for such sloppy soldiering,” I said harshly, not liking what I was seeing with these soldiers.
“Sir, Sergeant Grahame was killed a few weeks ago and we didn’t have any other NCO’s, or even senior enlisted personnel here, to take over. Since our command was gone, we didn’t get any replacements either. The mayor has taken command and while it’s not my place to question…he’s no military leader, sir. The raids started about five weeks ago. Just one or two of these clowns called the Bloody Blades started skulking about. The first were all level one and would content themselves with attacking the outlying farms…killing and taking everything of value, running before the guards, or soldiers, could respond. But soon, more and more came and the town itself was being raided. The guard and our garrison did what we could, but the Bloody Blades became more numerous and better equipped. The guard is undermanned and underequipped since the town is so small, and our platoon is down to only twenty-five soldiers, now that our losses are not being replaced. I’m glad you’re here, sir. I’m sure you’ll put this to rights quickly,” the soldier explained.
It did seem the situation was dire. Poor morale and lack of leadership had made these soldiers sloppy, and sloppy soldiers get themselves, and others, killed. I had to end this quickly.
“Soldier, I will not put this right quickly. We will put his right quickly, together. We fight as a team and that’s how we’ll win. Bandits and raiders are out for their own gain, or sick pleasure. We’re fighting to protect those we love and the lands we live in. I’m heading with the caravan to Hayden’s Knoll and then we’ll get started on these Bloody Blade characters. I expect you and the men here to hold this position. You’ll build standard defenses to guard the transition point. I expect to see a regulation fortified position the next time I’m here. How are you set for supplies and how often are the squads guarding the transition point rotated?” I asked.
“Sir, we’re rotated once a week usually…but not as often with the losses we’ve had, and to top it off, we’re on half rations since the raiders have hit the farms so hard. We only have a couple days left of half rations, then we were going to be forced back to town for supplies, whether we were relieved or not,” the soldier added. I saw his nametag showed Springman and his health bar showed only 80% and two debuff icons were seen.
Low morale: This npc is experiencing low morale. Low morale reduces attack and defense. This debuff will increase the longer the npc is in the demoralizing situation.
Underfed: This npc hasn’t been eating enough. -20% to max health, as well as a penalty to attack, defense, and damage.
This insanity had to stop. Soldiers are used to enduring hardship, but there should be no reason to send a town garrison out underfed. The mayor will have some answering to do once I get to town.
“Private,” I gestured for one of the soldiers with me. “See to it that Private Springman and his squad get a full week’s worth of rations dropped off before we leave.” Looking at his equipment, I could see the garrison was underequipped as well, wearing gear like my starting soldiers had. I took a gamble with my next act. “These soldiers are now under my command. See to it they are equipped properly.” I knew we hadn’t brought any extra gear with us, but I figured the AI had some way to equip new soldiers with the upgrades I had purchased. From what the system said before, I only had to purchase an upgrade once and all soldiers under my command would be equipped the same.
“Yes sir! I’ll get them chow and see to it they get properly equipped before we leave…I think I remember seeing a supply crate in one of the wagons,” the soldier said, and I breathed a sigh of relief at not having to buy more gear.
“Private Springman, you’re in charge here. See to it you and your men get a good, hot meal in you before you get to work on the defenses. We’ll send word and reinforcements from town before the week is up. I have confidence you’ll do your duty. Dismissed!” Private Springman saluted smartly and went to gather his gear and food. I could see the morale debuff drop from his health bar, and I knew the poorly fed debuff would soon follow once they ate. Motioning to Daegan, I let him know we were ready to continue. While I was doing this, a new prompt appeared.
You have taken command of the soldiers guarding the transition point in Hayden’s Knoll. This is a squad-sized unit and is currently understrength due to losses. When you take command of an understrength unit, you will receive only those soldiers currently in the unit, but your total soldiers assigned will reflect the unit at full strength.
Total Standard Soldiers: 57/60
Total Advanced Soldiers: 0/10
Total Elite Soldiers:1/1
Chapter 26
The caravan rolled slowly down the dirt road toward Hayden’s Knoll. The same scenery passed as we ate up the miles toward our destination. Sergeant Barnes and I continued the tradition of running the men during the morning and just as we stopped for our noon break, I received a notification.
You have earned the trait Physically Fit. You, and soldiers in your command, stick to a strict physical fitness regimen. You receive the following bonus.
Standard Soldiers: +5 bonus to health per level, retroactive.
Advanced Soldiers: +10 bonus to health per level, retroactive.
Elite Soldiers: +25 bonus to health per level, retroactive.
Commander: +25 bonus to health per level, retroactive.
Should you fail to train for a period of more than one week, you will lose this bonus until you once again train hard enough to reach the same level of fitness. This is a class bonus exclusive to the unique commander class.
Wow, not a bad buff for just doing what soldiers are supposed to do. After a quicker than normal lunch, the caravan once more headed out. We were all anxious to make it to Hayden’s Knoll before the end of the day. Daegan became bored and began to ask our driver, Torgen, about his life, I was struggling to hold in a laugh as Torgen proceeded to answer every question with his usual “humph” noise. Daegan would cut a notch in the seat of the wagon each time
he made the noise. The current count was at forty-two. Daegan asked if Torgen liked being a caravan driver, when instead of his usual ‘humph”, we heard a meaty “thwack!” sound as a crossbow bolt slammed into the side of Torgen’s head. Daegan leapt across the seat, struggling to grab the reigns of the wagon while I scanned to see where the attack had come from. I held up my hand in the pre-arranged signal for “caravan under attack”, while equipping my shield and sword. Just as I equipped my shield, a second bolt embedded in its face. The force of the crossbow bolt pushed me back and I could see the bolt had penetrated the layers of lacquered wood, the sharp point only a few inches from my arm. Looking back, the men were responding quickly, passing word down the line that we were under attack and grabbing their gear. I hopped out of the wagon as 1st Squad, in the wagon behind me, began to form up. Daegan got control of the Mukok pulling our wagon and brought the caravan to a halt. The road was clear on either side except for a small copse of trees just to the left of the caravan, and I figured the shots had come from there. Too bad Yendys and her halfling ranger companions were still logged out, we could use their bows and magic right about now. With a shout seven figures charged from the copse of trees, while at the same time six more charged from our right where they had hidden themselves behind a rock formation a bit further back from the road. The attackers were a mixed bag. I could see humans, a dwarf, an elf, and a couple of half orcs. The troubling thing was that all of them were players. These weren’t some NPC goblins, these were actual players trying to attack the innocent caravan.
The only forces near me were 1st Squad and a section from 2nd Squad that was just coming up the line. I joined first squad as we placed ourselves in a line between the wagons and the group coming from the trees. I ordered the section from 2nd Squad to face the foes coming from behind the rock. Scanning our foes, I could now see health bars, but the system didn’t give me exact health numbers. Remembering my duel weeks ago, I assumed the players would be much more powerful on an individual basis than my forces. I could only hope that the rest of the platoon made it up to the front of the caravan quickly, and that we could overwhelm them with numbers and tactics. As our foes approached, the attackers were whooping it up and laughing at what they perceived to be an easy target. The attackers were a mix of classes and builds. I could see some wearing heavier chain while carrying shields and one-handed weapons, several looked to be rogues or rangers dual wielding daggers while wearing leather, and one that hung back wore a dark robe with a mask over his face that screamed “caster”. The only thing their gear had in common was a bloody dagger symbol prominently displayed somewhere on their armor.
“Easy kill, guys. This supply caravan should have some good loot and xp for us!” the half orc in the lead said as he approached, while twirling a dagger in each hand.
“What the…!! Where did all these soldiers come from, and who’s this player with them?” the half orc said, and slowed as he saw the attack wouldn’t be as one sided as he thought.
“1st Squad! Javelins release!” I ordered while activating command presence and throwing my own javelin. Our skills had clearly improved as all the javelins but mine hit the attackers…my throwing skill needed more work. The half orc in front took three javelins, his health dropping by a quarter. I didn’t have time to scan the other attackers’ health as the foes hit our line. The soldiers in 1st Squad presented shields and began to fight like they had trained, protecting themselves with their shields and striking out quickly with a thrust whenever possible. I paced the line behind my soldiers, ready to plug any gaps in the line and looking for any additional threats. The half orc with the daggers hit the soldier in front of me, driving both his daggers into the soldier’s neck, a critical hit that killed him instantly and bloodily. I stepped into the gap and thrust at the half orc, a blow that he easily dodged. While he was dodging me the soldier to my left took advantage of the distraction and landed a quick thrust to the half orc’s side. The half orc then swung his daggers at me. I blocked one with my shield and the other made it though my defense ramming into my stomach. The new leather armor helped mitigate the damage, but that one blow took dropped my own health by twenty percent. I made a riposte at the now over-extended half orc and landed a stab of my own to his exposed neck.
You have landed a critical blow on your opponent. You have caused a bleeding wound. You opponent will lose health every second for the next 20 seconds.
I quickly willed combat stats off. It was too distracting in a fight. I needed to buy time, so I ordered 1st Squad to activate shield bash. Our foes were unprepared for it and found themselves pushed back from the coordinated strike. The distraction allowed all of us to land a free blow on our confused enemies. I took a second to look down our line. I could see we had lost three soldiers, so far. The half orc in front of me began to shout.
“Need some heals here! These mobs are tougher than they look!” Someone pulled me back from the line and I could see 3rd Squad had joined us, filling in the missing slots and putting me back where I could better manage the fight. Not in any immediate danger, I looked to see how the section from second squad was faring. Sadly, all five of that section were down and the group of attackers were now battling 4th Squad and the second section of 2nd Squad. Sergeant Brooks was coming up with our new 5th Squad and he was moving to get behind the players that had attacked from the rocks. If they could surround the players, we might stand a chance. Looking back to the fight in front of me, I received another notification.
Your forces have slain unknown rogue level 2. 25 experience gained.
I saw the dual wielding half orc was down. Unfortunately, another three of my soldiers were, as well. While looking at my forces, I was seized by some glowing grey bands that surrounded my body. The world blurred as I was magically pulled to the ground fifty yards from where I just was. The masked and robed mage looked down on my stunned form as he drew a wicked curved knife.
You have been stunned by the spell Translocation. Teleportation to the caster. 5 second stun. 10 seconds immobilization.
Crap! I was helpless and the jerk mage that did this was gloating.
“Ohhh, a unique class. Hey Mr. Commander man. Don’t worry. You’ll find the Bloody Blades kill unique classes as easily as the others. Any last words?” I scanned the mages nametag and found the following.
Mage level 3, name…unknown. This character has used an item, or ability, to mask their identity.
WAIT…did he say, “any last words?” I can speak! His spell didn’t stop speech! “HONOR GUARD!” I yelled, activating my newest ability. Instantly, two soldiers appeared to either side of the mage. He looked in shock as both soldiers thrust their swords into his unarmored torso. The mage’s health dropped by half, and he found he could no longer attack me and could only attack the summoned honor guard. The mage was not out of tricks, though and with a quick chant and a motion of his hands he cast a Firebolt spell that hit one of the honor guards in the face. The single bolt took the guard nearly to death, but before the mage could cast again, I ordered the uninjured honor guard to activate shield bash. The shield slammed into the mage, knocking him down and dropping his health by another ten percent. During this time, I received several more very welcome notifications.
Your forces have slain unknown barbarian, level 1. 10 experience gained.
Your forces have slain unknown warrior, level 2. 25 experience gained.
Yours, and allied forces have slain rogue, level 2. 25 experience gained.
Allied forces? I didn’t have time to check as the immobilization on me wore off. I quickly rose to my feet while ordering the injured honor guard to use his shield bash on the mage who was also trying to get up. The shield bash landed, taking ten percent more health off our foe and knocking him prone. I had dropped my sword and shield when the translocation spell hit me, so I quickly drew my dagger to at least have something with which to fight. Both of the honor guards landed hits again on the mage, finishing him off.
Your forces
have slain unknown mage, level 3. 50 experience gained.
Your forces have slain unknown warrior, level 1. 10 experience gained.
Your forces and allied forces have slain unknown ranger, level 2. 25 experience gained.
Staggering to my feet, I checked on the status of the battle. The tide had turned in our favor thanks to the “allied forces” that the system had notified me of. It looked like Daegan had organized the drivers and they had joined the fight, helping to surround the players attacking from the rocks. The players facing me were being attacked not only from my soldiers, but also from Barnaby Horn and his loggers. A few of the settlers had even joined in, clumsily wielding the weapons they had taken after the goblin fight. Though our forces were not anywhere near as strong as the players’, our overwhelming numbers caused the remaining Bloody Blades to make a break for it. As they ran, I noticed Phineas and the goblins standing atop their wagon, all aiming small hand crossbows at one of the fleeing players. All three small bolts hit, killing another attacker.
Your forces, and allied forces, have slain unknown rogue, level 1. 10 experience gained.
Phineas wasn’t done yet. He began chanting and lifted both arms in the air while curling his hands with a clawing motion. Plants shot up from the ground catching two of the fleeing players around their legs. The vines not only grabbed onto them, holding them tight, but also burrowed into the flesh of their legs, causing minor damage. A flight of javelins from my men finished the two that were caught. A few had escaped, but I was not going to order a chase anytime soon.
Your forces, and allied forces, have slain unknown barbarian, level 2. 25 experience gained.
Your forces, and allied forces, have slain unknown warrior, level 2. 25 experience gained.
