***
There was no visual cue from Peter that he knew anything, even when Victoria joined us a few minutes later in the hall fully garbed.
When asked about breakfast she replied, “I’ve already eaten.”
Did she wake up before me?
With my spear and shield inventoried to save my arms, among other things, I followed at the rear of our growing procession, Kline by my side. Speaking of caffeinated squirrels, even without a caffeine-rich beverage my chest was nearly vibrating as it labored to contain my enthusiasm. No more defensive measures. It was time to bring the fight to the snot colored horde.
Harrison teased Victoria up front with comments such as, “You should have been there last night,” and “You don’t know what you missed!” He knew perfectly well we were there.
Our group grew once we hit the main road leading to the front gate. Wilson’s dozen men were waiting there for us. Wilson joined Peter, Harrison, and Victoria up front. His men filed in behind us. The rest of Harrison’s men met us just outside the front gate, north of the barricade.
Close to a thousand men still manned the gate. The defense had taken on a life of its own. Makeshift practice arenas had been created with crates and logs set up in a circle in three different locations: north, south and in the middle of the barricade. Men were sparring with weapons and bare fists. It was there I saw Vector and the gamers at the front of the crowd of the most popular sparring ring in the barricade.
“They’re going to hang out with Cornelius today,” Kline said as Treetop squared off against another scrappy guy barehanded.
We stopped out front of the defensive line, too far from the group to see well. Only the heads of the competitors made their appearance as they circled. My best guess was Treetop was throwing some awkward jabs, trying to fend the shorter guy off as he backpedaled. He was a mystery to me. A blundering drunk one minute, a fearless warrior the next, and now after he had literally been crushed he was out here sparring.
“Cornelius is running his own training camp then?” I asked.
“Looks like it. After last night, men are chomping at the bit to join him. The rest are just trying to get some free training.”
“So he made out well last night?”
“I heard his group, if you can call over one hundred men a group, were the only ones to hold their own in last night’s raid. The majority of the goblin deaths came from his men and yet there were thousands of players in the fight,” Kline said, gracious enough not to mention that I had been there. Peter and Oliver were too close and could overhear.
“I’m surprised we haven’t talked to him about joining forces.”
“Oh, they are already in talks. Peter sat down with him this morning over some coffee.”
“I guess I should have assumed as much.”
“Yeah, you should have.” He chuckled.
While the group leaders chatted about strategy, I opened up my menu and brought up my fan page. I felt I had been neglecting my followers. My pulse surged like a jackrabbit had suddenly started tap dancing from inside my chest. 62,711,029 followers! Ten million more… But why?!
I scanned through the comments that the security and cheating AI didn’t blur or block and found a debate going on. Some people wanted me to abandon my group and join Vector. More surprising still, the majority wanted me to stay with Victoria’s group, or more specifically sneak out with her again.
The reasoning was mixed. Suffice it to say, we were an interesting pair that was sure to get into trouble. On the other hand, people wanted us to hook up. I facepalmed.
There wasn’t a single mention of me running away from the hobgoblin like a coward. That was a relief.
I had gained over ten million followers, not because of my gaming skill, but because people were interested in seeing what Victoria and I would do together. The last thing I wanted was to turn into a Virtual Reality drama-king. Oh, I have to watch Lucius today! Have you seen his abs? If that girl doesn’t get her act together…
I shook my head to clear away the thought.
***
There were 41 players all together. Our group was the smallest with 5 players. Without ceremony or announcement we departed. Announcing our goal and failing would not help build our fame, which was important for a pro gamer obviously, but also for starting a guild. If we found what we were looking for it would give us even more credibility.
I was near the front of the pack behind the group leaders. Everyone loosely fell in behind whoever their leaders were.
Our march into the forest started out as a strangely quiet one. There were no goblins to be found. Other player groups had left Willingham to hunt as well, but most headed north or south. Now I knew why. Even though the goblins had come from this direction, they seemed to have abandoned the forest altogether.
Even with an empty sun-blanketed forest, our pace was little more than a walk. Peter led Victoria by the hand as she scanned far ahead of us with her Pet-enhanced sight. How far she could actually see I hadn’t asked. The forest was fairly sparse with little underbrush, but there was still plenty of room for face planting.
At first, I had activated enhanced hearing but talk about creepy. I was able to hear every crunch of leaf and snap of twig from our party and every creature in close proximity. Instead, I just kept an eye on Wink, who was stalking beside Lulu. They seemed more suspicious of the humans in our party than anything from the forest.
Over two-thirds of the players had their pets visible. The other third of the players weren’t level ten yet. There were mostly wolf pups and lion cubs, but I counted seven owls and falcons. Falcons were by far the rarest Pets with only one other player besides Victoria having one. Ironically enough we were all following their lead. The other falcon player walked out front as well.
***
Two hours later we were still heading east. There had yet to be a single mob attack. The pressure was building. The only talking came from those up front as they discussed our heading. Everyone else scanned the forest from side to side, not willing to believe the goblins were gone for good.
There was one person that didn’t seem tense at all and that was Kline, emphasized by a craning yawn.
A hand went up. Peter was listening closely to Victoria who it seemed had finally seen something.
“Someone is coming.” Peter turned, whispering to Kline and me.
I relayed Peter’s message to the people behind me.
We were joined by a sudden scream. “Help!”
A spear shot up in the air, Oliver holding it high as a signal. It snapped forward, directing us forward. We ran.
I deactivated Wink’s visibility and equipped my spear and shield. In a handful of seconds, we mobbed around a man who was sucking in air, leaning over with hands on his knees.
There was no effort to stay in any formation or order. The fastest players arrived first, which I was among. The stragglers had a chance to catch up before the newcomer caught his breath.
“Hobgoblin. Attacked my party.” He pointed to a clearing that was a stone’s throw away.
The same spot in the middle of my back twitched. It was time.
I was swept away with the crowd. There was no delay. We jogged toward danger until Oliver halted us. He lowered himself and crept forward. We followed his example, a platoon of medieval ants.
Tearing sounded from a bush to the right flank. A solo goblin warrior rushed out. Two spears stopped its approach by gifting it with a couple of new holes to take with it in its death.
Another goblin warrior attacked us from the rear. We hadn’t even entered the clearing yet. Where had it been hiding? Six players brick walled the goblin with a bombardment of blows.
Soon there were groups of two and three rushing us from seemingly random directions. The waves crashed in quicker and quicker. These weren’t the small goblins we had run into the first day, but the larger warrior class from last night. On the bright side, their armor was of low quality.
The o
nly direction the goblins didn’t seem to appear from was the front.
Looking to Victoria, I saw sweat drip down the side of her face as she focused on the forest ahead.
My heart drummed at a frightening pace as if trying to draw out the hobgoblin with its beat. I swallowed, trying to wet my chalky throat.
Two goblins came at us from the front. Victoria was stationed to the right and set to intercept one. Peter took the other on the left.
Hearing an incoming scurry of footsteps, I stepped forward to Victoria’s side and faced two more attackers. I felt Kline step up beside me.
Instead of waiting for it to arrive, I lunged forward, extending my spear low, gutting my enemy. I had caught the goblin off guard so that it hadn’t the time to parry with its hatchet. Its leather armor was no help fending off my attack with its momentum helping me.
The second goblin was axe-jabbed in the face by Kline.
At its death, the goblins’ assault ceased.
With everyone on edge, we quickly got our loot and moved forward.
As we made it around an abnormally dense section of underbrush, what I saw caused my heart to drop into my stomach. A blue giant was facing the opposite direction shaking a tree back and forth as if to tear it from the ground. Everyone ducked behind the undergrowth.
I tightened my grip and clenched the muscles in my shoulders, chest, and back. Releasing the tension, I exhaled, feeling my nerves loosen, but only slightly.
Flexing my jaw, my nostrils flared. I filtered through the normal things that motivated me, but becoming a pro and proving my father wrong just didn’t seem to matter as much anymore.
With five different groups it was a miracle, but somehow we came upon the beast without being spotted. The racket the monster was making with the stubborn tree was likely the culprit.
The text above its name indicated it was a hobgoblin, but it wasn’t named. If it followed normal gaming logic then this one should be weaker.
Harrison quickly but quietly regrouped with Peter and Oliver. Wilson followed soon after.
“If you would let me, I want to try something,” Harrison suggested.
“What kind of something?” Peter asked.
With a thoughtful tug on his beard, he replied. “Secret weapon.”
Stone faced, Peter glanced at each of us. Turning to Victoria last, she shrugged.
With no objections, he was all teeth.
“What do you need from us?”
“Hopefully nothing. If it doesn’t work, be ready. I think it will be pretty obvious if we fail.”
We all sat tight as Harrison and one young beardless member of his group snuck around the edge of the clearing trying to get as far to the flank as possible. The difficulty was the hobgoblin was facing the direction they were heading. Thankfully it was preoccupied.
When the hobgoblin had finally yanked the tree from the ground with much of its roots still attached, it stopped as if realizing it wasn’t alone for the first time.
Kline looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I knew what he was thinking.
Nine players rushed out of the clearing at the monster from the rear. They were a pack of teal cloaks all wielding bronze spears with two hands.
The hobgoblin snapped the tree in two and tossed the flimsy part aside making itself a makeshift club that seemed fairly small compared to the ones I had seen before. It was little more than twice the length of a baseball bat. The beast didn’t wait but turned and headed towards them with loud nasally protest.
They clashed in the middle of the clearing. The spearman didn’t hesitate, but ramming their nine spears into its torso, leg, and shoulder before it could swing its club. The effect was clear, but it also caused the 9-foot monster to become further enraged.
Victoria grabbed my shoulder, hard. Looking over, her eyes were wide, fixated on the fight before us.
The men retreated when the arcing swing of the club swished overhead. They jumped forward, launching another attack.
Then the hobgoblin got tired of being poked, and rushed forward, knocking the spears out of the way with his hand. Bashing down to the ground, it tried to crush or trample any player that got in its way.
Nails bit into my shoulder near the armhole of my leather armor and tunic below it. The pain was easily ignored. Victoria’s hand was shaking.
Seeing her, my jaw clenched and breathing became heavy. Tightening my grip, I was able to forget myself.
Thankfully there were no direct hits, but two players were knocked aside as it rushed by. One received a grazing blow from a root still attached to the tree-club. The two that had been knocked over helped up the wounded man and hurried to the underbrush off to the side and out of the way.
The rest of Harrison’s group placed themselves between us and the hobgoblin. The move was ridiculous considering it didn’t even know we were here. Why were they protecting us? But then, I saw their aim.
Harrison had been circling around to the rear and was now rushing across the clearing to attack the hobgoblin from behind. He carried a large bundle of rope; a young man carried an extra bundle close behind. They were unarmed.
The remaining men were having a hard time fending off the hobgoblin’s blows and were being backed up into the thicket.
Loosing the rope, Harrison dragged it behind, then while twisting at the waist he threw it like a giant two-handed frisbee. As it flew, the rope spun and loosened further, displaying a large net. The hobgoblin soon found it over its head, encircling its upper torso and drooping down to the knee. It wasn’t large enough!
I was wrong. The beast started to struggle to get it off.
Harrison quickly armed himself and didn’t let the opening go to waste. Two of the members that had taken their injured comrade to safety then returned, adding more spears to the conflict. In the few seconds it couldn’t defend itself it was brought to its knees. Once the first spear pierced it at the neck, it was over. A number of spear points followed suit.
Victoria let go of my shoulder and ran out with the others to congratulate them.
I allowed myself to calm down before I joined them.
Then a cry for help came from the forest where the injured man had been moved to.
Like flint to a stone, I found myself running. He was on his feet trying to fend off two goblin warriors with one good arm while wielding a spear. I was among the first to reach him. We split them, taking a goblin each.
Without slowing, I lowered my shoulder with all my weight behind my new bronze shield. I pummeled straight through it, my chest swelling. With a loud clang, the goblin was driven backward and half knocked unconscious. My spear wouldn’t pierce its chain shirt. I didn’t think. Something in me thirsted for violence. I threw my weight behind the cutting edge of my shield, leveling it in the face. It crumpled with a twitch.
Our job wasn’t finished.
Looking up I found Wilson staring deeper into the forest with a sober excitement. At least twenty goblin warriors were spread out wading through the trees coming right at us.
He looked over at me. I gave him a wolfish grin.
Everyone joined us soon after. There was a silent hesitation as the players and goblins stood, waiting for the other party to make the first move.
It was Wilson who broke the tension.
Running forward, his group followed with their spears at the ready. With the terrain forcing mostly one on one skirmishes, it was unclear who had the advantage. Even with the warriors’ superior strength and equipment compared to the normal goblins, it wasn’t enough.
With only a few bodies left, the goblin warriors turned and ran. I missed the normal goblins that were stupid enough to just keep fighting until they died.
We took chase.
I bound up all my frustration and burned it as fuel. If I couldn’t face a hobgoblin, then I’d make the regular goblins regret they had been born lowly grunts.
Wilson once again was at my heels as we both quickly outpaced everyone else. We took two different pat
hs through the underbrush, but regardless of a few obstacles we had to jump over or avoid, it was unclear who would catch them first.
He glanced over at me, this time with a grin of his own. The challenge was on.
Then an open field came into view through the trees. Once in the open, I would have much more freedom to open up my stride.
It was amazing how good it felt flying through the trees. For the moment, my fears had disappeared entirely and the fog of anger dissolved. In that moment, I was back on the hunt in Gravel, or one of the many games I played before.
With less than a hundred yards to the clearing, it was obvious Wilson wasn’t giving in.
He looked at me and gave me a snicker before upping the pace. For a moment he was a few meters ahead.
VR games were little more than simulations that tricked your mind into thinking you were running. The physical act, the pump of adrenaline, and the challenge of strained muscles were something else entirely. My training from before Codename: Freedom kicked in.
When I decided he had been pulling away long enough, I began. Pumping my arms harder and stretching my stride out, I caught Wilson in less than a second. Though I sensed he tried to push himself further, in moments I was pulling away.
Crossing out of the forest into the field in victory, I nearly fell over my own feet as I skidded to a stop.
The goblins hadn’t just been heading for an open field. I didn’t know what I had expected we would find when we found the goblins’ spawn point, but this wasn’t it. A city, twice the size of Willingham, if not larger, stared me in the face.
Wilson looked at me wide eyed and we both struggled to catch our breath. We had found what we were looking for.
I caught myself as the wolfish grin started to stretch across my face and stopped it. What was going on with me? Was I becoming Chewme, a bloodthirsty brute with a perpetual smirk?
An open gate about a half mile away soon welcomed the three goblins we had been chasing. Just through the gate, I saw goblins and hobgoblins about their business. Bright reds were worn. There were about a dozen goblins heading into the city on a gravel road that stretched along the wall of one side leading into the entrance.
Codename: Freedom: Survive Week One Page 19
