The True Enemy Revealed

by Jason Cheek

  That difference would be of super importance for my future growth. The more specialty units I had available to purchase, the greater chance I had of not being affected once the bidding wars started in the NPC Recruiter. I had no doubt that would happen once the word got out of how I was using the people of The World for my forces. Then, having NPCs would become all the rage with the larger guilds.

  Luckily, the game let me choose different locations for each group as I sent the Sea Elves to the City of Auris Shaeras and everyone else to BrokenFang Hold. I wanted the Gnomelings actually to be delivered to the City of Auris too, but I didn’t dare have a group of non-water breathers suddenly show up under the ocean. It would be horrible to pop in your starting area only to suddenly drown to death as soon as you appeared at your designated location. Until I understood the process better, I decided to play it safe. With that done, I quickly began suiting up.

  Heading out the door double-time, I made my way to the galley for a quick bite to eat since my virtual body needed sustenance as much as my in real life body. ‘Sometimes, the double breakfasts and dinners made me feel like a Tolkien Hobbit going on about first breakfast and second breakfast,’ I smiled at the thought shaking my head. Surprisingly enough, the room was empty except for Mother Mylbim and several of her helpers as they worked hard on preparing lunch for the crew.

  Without even a harsh look, the matronly Gnomeling handed me a package of prepared food wrapped in cloth and a couple Giant Squid meat kabobs hot off the grill. Thanking the old woman for looking out for me, I took the package and put it away in my rucksack. Giving me a warm smile, she told me to take care of myself in the Kingdom of Kader and warned me to watch out around those Humans.

  I’d just stuck the first kabob of steaming succulent meat into my mouth and was headed for the door when Mother Mylbim stopped me with a hand on my elbow. Giving me another package of meat, she confided to me with a warm smile that it was actually for Neysa which made me nearly drop the traveling cloth before I could recover from my surprise. Seeing the stunned look on my face, she blushed saying that the Silver Dire Wolf had fought for the Family and was more than deserving of a little special treatment. With a bemused smile, I thanked her once again and headed for the door.

  The sun was nearly directly overhead as I made my way towards the stern of the ship while greeting the crew and raid members alike. I was just passing by the rear fire spitter when I ran almost smack-dab into Fylreh. My mood instantly soured at the look of absolute panic that crossed over the centauride’s face. Before she could say anything or even turn around to run away, I immediately confronted her.

  “This shit stops here and now,” I brusquely said, as Fylreh’s eyes widened in hurt at the tone of my voice. “We are going to be entering a major battle and everyone’s lives will be on the line. As your liege lord, I need to know I can rely on you to do what is necessary for our people and not have to worry about,” my hand waved back and forth between us as I continued, “this shit between us.”

  I knew my words were painful but this had to end here and now. To be honest, I couldn’t function like this. Once two people started arguing like this, they really needed to seriously step back and decide what they truly wanted out of the relationship. There was no sense in staying with someone if all they did was make you miserable.

  Not to mention, after everything I’d been through in my life with abusive women and a family that treated me worse than dirt, I didn’t take emotional bullshit like this well. Truthfully, I’d broken up with women in the real world for much less. Besides, I couldn’t have this heartbreak wrecking us when so much was at stake for both of our peoples, nor was I about to put Helgath and Neysa through this emotional rollercoaster ride every time I ran into the confused centauride.

  “Once this is all over, you can decide if you’re able to accept me with all of the baggage I come with or not,” I said without remorse. “Until then, whatever this was between us is over.” I ignored her sharp intake of breath and the ache in my chest as the words tumbled from my lips. “Get yourself cleaned up and ready to leave. We’ll be moving out as soon as we dock,” I brusquely finished, before turning away and heading towards the stern of the ship. I didn’t look back at the clattering sound of hooves running away from me. As soon as I approached the ship’s wheel, I saw Helgath and Neysa break away from the group and head my way.

  Wordlessly, Helgath threw her arms around my neck as I picked her up in one arm, while Neysa plowed into me a second later, almost knocking me down with her mass. Damn, she was big. Her latest three level increase had brought her up to level 34 and put her head nearly as high as my own while standing flatfooted. With a smile, I threw an arm around her thick neck. The skin-to-skin contact with my soulmates flooded my mind with their love and support as I held them both close for a long moment. The emotional pain that had hit me from breaking it off with Fylreh seemed to instantly disappear as I buried my head into the Silver Dire Wolf’s furry neck and breathed in her scent.

  No words were needed as I patted their backs and pushed them away so I could talk to the rest of my friends. Neysa followed a pace behind me as Helgath kept glued to my side clutching my upper arm with one clawed hand. Seeing Sarka and Yun, I called out.

  “So where were you guys for breakfast?”

  “Don’t even start,” Sarka warned, turning around to poke me in the chest. “You’re enough of a slave driver as it is with the insane gaming schedule you keep. At least, let a woman have her beauty sleep one day a week.”

  Yun was doing his best not to snort in laughter as Sarka went on bitching for another thirty seconds about hardcore gamers playing insane hours every day. I held my hands up in surrender as the cranky warrior slowly wound down, grumbling about being worked half to death. I mean, they were both logged in even before I’d made it into the game this morning, but I wasn’t about to bring that up while she was on her rant. Just when I thought it was over, Kenzie and Thomas started in.

  “You think you have it bad, we’re on Central time!” Kenzie groused while trying not to smile as Thomas added in his two cents.

  “To be in the game at zero seven hours Eastern time means we’re waking up at zero five hundred in the morning,” Thomas said giving me an apologetic wink as I rolled my eyes.

  “Are you guys really complaining? At any time you can go back to your normal schedule and catch up once you’re logged in,” I said giving them both the stink eye.

  “No complaints here,” Thomas said, while nodding his head up and down that he was complaining as Kenzie popped me in the shoulder for the back talk. I heard a throat clear behind everyone as both Captain Windcoat and Captain Lightouch stepped forward. Seeing that they had my attention, they both clapped their fists to their chests in salute.

  “We’re entering the port of Darom now milord,” Captain Lightouch reported nodding towards the bow.

  Following his gaze, I saw that we were just now passing the northeastern defensive fort that guarded the entrance to Darom. Each of the massive structure sat atop rocky outcrops that rose up out of the water and looked as if they were carved directly into the stone. There were no parapets at the top fighting deck that rose nearly fifty feet above the water, only a low defensive wall where five large catapults sat unmanned.

  At the base around each of the fortifications stood twenty-foot high walls where large groups of defenders could be positioned to hold off any attacking invaders. For any attack on the city to succeed, the defensive fortifications positioned outside the bay would need to be taken first by necessity. Otherwise, the catapults would shred any fleet passing within range of their firing arc.

  There was a man-made seawall that connected the rocky outcrops to the towering cliffs on either side of the bay. They weren’t mountains, but large hills that ended at the edge of the water with a flat rock face that towered above the fortifications. Kind of like the famous pictures you see of Ireland’s rocky coastline from County Cork and Muckross Head. While they were cli
mbable, doing so would be nearly impossible with defenders shooting arrows into your vulnerable backside. All in all, it was a good layout, I thought, while studying the overlapping design. Covering my eyes with a hand to see better in the noon glare, I studied the barren structures for a moment before a sense of wrongness hit me.

  “Isn’t there supposed to be an actual watch set on the towers?” I asked glancing down at both captains as they both joined me in studying the defensive structures. “Because I’m not seeing anyone manning the forts.”

  “That’s odd,” Captain Windcoat said, her interest obviously peaked.

  “I’m surprised you’re still awake,” I continued with a grin, before going back to my observation. I’d already moved on to study the port and the city. “Anything interesting come up last night?”

  “Actually, nothing happened,” the Gnomeling woman said with a peculiar tone in her voice, while a rumble began amongst those present as everyone began discussing the unmanned fortifications we passed at the bay’s entrance. Seeing my questioning look, she explained further.

  “We should’ve run into someone along the way. A Royal Navy squadron or two pulling patrol duty in and around the Kingdom of Kader’s waters at the very least, but we saw no one throughout the night or this morning. There’s something not right going on.”

  Seeing Captain Lightouch’s nod of agreement, the frown on my face deepened as a foreboding shiver went down my spine. “What would cause that?” I asked, unsure of the command structure of the Royal Navy.

  “The Royal Forces are a combination of all the races on the southwestern side of the Nordic Region. Officially the Kingdom of Larethien is a part of the Southern Alliance of Humanoid Races, but due to the distance between the Light Elves and everyone else, they tend to keep their forces operating separately. While the Kingdom of Kader doesn’t control the Royal Forces, per se. Their lands are the tip of the spear holding back the Northern Tribes, so they have more direct control over disposition of the Royal Forces than the other races.” Captain Windcoat explained, before her eyes went back to studying the approaching city.

  In a lot of ways, the Light Elves relationship with the Southern Alliance of Humanoid Races reminded me of The United Kingdom’s relationship with the European Federation in the real world. They were one and the same on one level, but very different on another, due to the separation forced upon them by the Strait of Icelus. Once again, similar to how the English Channel isolated the United Kingdom from the rest of Europe. The Southern Alliance was basically a partnership of humanoid races against the savage nature of the northern demi-Humans in the region. I hoped the comparison would help me to understand the political relationships within the Nordic Region. With that thought echoing in the back of my mind, I turned back to watch our approach to Darom.

  The city itself was impressive from this far out. It rose above the bay on a large, bowl-like hill. Here and there stone towers rose above the large medieval cityscape of ancient looking stone buildings and cobblestone streets. The towering structures reminded me of the Magi Spirals in Delonshire, only more massive and ornate. Halfway up the slope there was a massive structure that basically looked like a Roman Coliseum built from solid stone. At the top of the hill was another enormous edifice. This one was purely military in design and sat at the apex of the hill like a cherry on top of a sundae. The structure was a medieval stone castle that housed the Warden of the City and the local Royal Army units assigned to the port.

  The outer edges of the city were surrounded by a massive defensive wall that had to be forty yards high and disappeared out of sight around either side of the hill. ‘Not bad defenses at all,’ I thought silently to myself as my eyes returned to the long pier that stretched along the entire arc of the port city. The shops that lined the boardwalks were painted in bright colors of blue, red and yellow which seemed to brighten the cold, wintery day. There were three Gnomeling trading vessels moored in the middle of the pier by the boardwalk. Their massive, football field and a half, long bulks blocked the view to a good portion of the waterfront.

  The trader vessels weren’t the only ships in the port. Twenty-four biremes were anchored next to the massive piers that stretched out into the waters of the bay. As I watched the scurrying Royal Sailors and Marines on the ships decks were preparing to set sail, it took a moment for me to realize what was triggering my sixth sense about the city, when it suddenly hit me all at once. There were no people in sight going about their daily business or shopping. My eyes flickered up and down the streets to prove me wrong, but no matter where I looked the city itself looked to be completely deserted.

  There were no loaders working the trader ships or sailors going about the business of storing their cargo. The shops along the boardwalk were devoid of all life. Except for seagull like birds crying out in the cold wind, the city streets were completely empty except for a few overturned carts. My eyes narrowed, as I thought to myself ‘something ugly happened here.’ Thinking about why the Royal Navy was still aboard their ships just made my skin crawl all the more. I felt my raid persona mantle fall in place around my shoulders as I began calling out orders.

  “Heads up everyone! We have trouble in the city. Keep your eyes open and prepare for battle.” I announced in raid chat. Both Captains heads’ snapped around to look at me in surprise as I continued in local chat. “Captains, please warn all hands to prepare for battle. Something is going down and I don’t want anyone to be caught with their pants down. Please make sure the other ships are informed.”

  “Lord Ironwolf,” Captain Lightouch said with a fist to his chest as Captain Windcoat gave me an odd look. “What should we be warning them about?” The Gnomeling woman asked trying to understand what had set me off. Seeing Captain Lightouch pause to listen, I pointed out my concerns to them both. As soon as I’d finished, the beautiful Gnomeling started swearing up a storm.

  “By the Dark, what evil has taken over the alliance?” Captain Windcoat shouted as she clenched her hands into tiny fists. “How do you make the population of a whole city disappear? I don’t even see any evidence of an attack.”

  “I don’t know, but I’m not about to have any of us get caught by surprise,” I said as both captains saluted and moved out shouting orders. Turning back to my friends, I saw the concerned looks on each of their faces as I continued. “We need to be prepared. This could be due to a new batch of northern invaders or-“

  “The PKer guilds,” Thomas finished my sentence grimly.

  “Zackly,” I said making sure I had everyone’s attention. “Don’t worry, we knew this was coming. Hell, the reason we’re all here is to kick ass and take names.”

  “How would they even know we’d be arriving in Darom?” Sarka nervously asked.

  “All they had to do was have one of their people watching our Twitch channels to know where and when we were coming.”

  “God, this is starting to remind me of my tours in Afghanistan when we’d have reporters filming our surprise assaults against militants. We’d approach their bases only to find out that they’d been warned from watching our own news programs,” Thompson groused as the rest of the gathered Devil Dogs nodded their heads in agreement. It was one of the few times I’d heard the healer talk about his past experiences in the Marines. Unlike Thomas and Kenzie, he typically only talked about his experiences within The World.

  “Listen guys, I know it sucks on one level,” I apologized holding up my hands in surrender. “I removed as much of the secure content in the videos that I could, but there was no hiding our trip over. Besides, it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to know we’d have to debark in Darom.”

  The truth in my words seemed to relax everyone. It was just the way the cookie crumbled at times. We had to have the stream to keep fans interested in our content and make a living, but we had to hide portions of our story at the same time. Doing that was not easy, which was why I at times left the more risqué content in my videos. It helped to keep the bitching down when I to
ok out really important things like this.

  So far, I’d managed to do just that in regards to discussions over our future plans of empire building, technology, and the various defenses already in place or being built for BrokenFang hold. There was no hiding our departure from the city of Myathlune. Besides, this was really the only possible port for us to debark at and still make it in time to help Domenic with his battle against the PKers.

  “I still don’t understand how they could have taken out a whole city of people,” Kenzie said, obviously disturbed at the thought. “Did they just straight up slaughter all of the women and children of the city-“

  “Or did they do something even worse …?” Thomas finished with an ugly look on his face that I’d never seen before. Seeing my expression, he continued in a harsh tone. “All of the Devil Dogs have seen what evil a small group of people can do to women and children in the name of whatever it is they’re using as an excuse. They could be slaughtered-”

  “But more than likely they’ve been enslaved,” Sara said in an ugly voice as the rest of the Devil Dogs looked at each other knowingly. I did a double-take at the female Marine, surprised to see the Frost mage was now wearing black leather armor like everyone else, before contemplating her words.

  My stomach began to churn in my guts at the thought of what they were saying might be true, as my mind pictured the horror of how that would look. Was that just an ugly trait of human nature or simply something that some people did who had no empathy for anyone but themselves? Not that the answer to the question mattered, one way or another, since the end results were the same.

  Still, the thought itself caused my blood to boil as my eyes scanned the cityscape. ‘If you’re going to enslave a group of people where would you put them?’ I thought silently to myself when my eyes settled on the Romanesque Coliseum halfway up the hill as Thomas and Kenzie followed my eyes.

  “No way,” Kenzie said, as her eyes widened in understanding.