by Adam Drake
I assumed that gold would be placed close to each opponent's starting area. But mine was not out in the open, so it must be in the trees somewhere. Or so I hoped.
No gold, no chance at victory.
The scout nodded again and skulked off toward the tree line. Within moments he vanished from view.
I surveyed my little empire. Few men, and even fewer resources did not bode well for a good start. And until there was actual gold to use there was little else for me to do here.
With a single leap I was back in Smoke's saddle. I pointed him northwest, the direction Amara and her grunts had appeared from, and kicked at his sides.
The footmen leader called out to me in alarm. “Commander! Where are you going?”
“Look after things while I'm gone,” I shouted over me shoulder. “I think it's time I gave my opponent a little visit.”
Then I broke into a gallop.
CHAPTER SIX
I followed the open plains to the northwest until my base vanished from view behind the trees.
The terrain changed little; flat ground buttressed by tall trees on either side. The map began to fill out with these details and eventually showed that the plains curved around toward the north.
Other than the occasional flock of birds, and a mother boar with piglets which scampered through the forest, I encountered nothing else.
I'd assumed that Amara would have perhaps tried to send another grunt unit to attack again. No doubt, her resources were just as depleted as mine.
After investigating several blank patches of ground with exposed rock along the way, but finding no gold, I came to the conclusion any potential gold veins would be hidden. Or placed in strategic spots around the map.
Lost in thought, I almost didn't notice a slight change in the tree line to the east. There was a distinct gap with the beginnings of a narrow path.
Curious, I trotted over, wary of an ambush.
It was definitely a path, well worn. But it was far to narrow to ride Smoke through.
Where did this path lead and did Amara notice it when she passed this way before? Based on how fast she grunt-rushed me, I doubted she had time to investigate it herself.
I considered my options. Keep exploring north, or follow the path. A glance at the map, with icons representing each building and units, showed nothing had changed. The scout had traveled due south until he came upon the sheer barrier cliffs and turned northeastward. No indications of him discovering a gold vein.
Gold could be here though.
Not wanting to waste any more time, I dismounted. With a snap of my fingers Smoke popped out of existence and the mount icon on my view-screen went on a two-minute re-summoning timer.
I didn't think I'd need to run off in a hurry within the next two minutes. At least I hoped not.
Sword in hand, I entered the forest along the path. The air cooled around me so much I had to go into my game settings and reduce my simulation suit's temperature controls. I liked a good virtual reality experience as much as the next person, but I didn't need to freeze to death while doing so.
A few paces along, the gap behind me disappeared from view. Somewhere, deep within the crowd of dark trees came the ululating cries of some animal.
I paused, waiting. The cry came again, but further away. Without a clue as to what it was, I decided to take a precaution and slipped into Shadow Form. I effectively became invisible to a casual observer. And provided I stayed within shadows and did not engage in combat, my pseudo-invisibility would not negate. A unique ability given to the Shadow class.
I moved further inward following the path's twists and turns through the foliage. After several minutes I started to worry it may go on forever, or at least cut across the entire width of the map. There was no time for such folly.
I'd almost convinced myself to turn and go back when a chat request appeared on my view-screen. But unlike a player requesting a chat with their name attached to it, this one simply said, 'SCOUT'.
I selected the request, and a screen opened up before me. The cool gaze of the scout greeted me.
“Uh, hello, Scout,” I said with hesitation. I'd never once received a chat request from a NPC before. And, to be quite honest, didn't know they even had the capability. Perhaps it was a feature only found in Battle Field sessions?
The scout nodded once, his hood pulled down low to almost cover his eyes. “Found you some gold, Commander.” The screen angled away from him to show a wall of sheer rock. A wide spot along its dark surface glittered with gold, its veined pattern spreading outward like roots.
I felt a rush of relief at the sight. “Oh, thank the Gaming Gods!” I said.
The scout put the screen on him. “Gaming Gods, or Y'godda,” he said with a shrug. “Who's to know which?”
I actually laughed at his odd humor. “Well, I thank them both. Can you lead some workers to that spot?”
“Not needed,” the scout said. “It's marked on the map.”
And so it was, a gold nugget icon at the very bottom of my map against the cliff line.
“Okay, please continue scouting the forest and see what else you can find. When you're finished with the east forest, scout out the western one, too.”
The scout nodded and was about to turn away when I said. “Oh, and Mr. Scout.”
He looked at me expectantly.
“Good job!” I said with smile.
One corner of the scout's mouth raised a little which I took for his version of a grin, then he closed the chat screen.
I looked to my status screen to see where things stood.
The wood situation was fine, so I opted to pull the worker unit from their chopping duties. I selected their icon from the map then tapped the gold vein icon, and a system message appeared
Build a Gold Mine at this location? Cost: 200 gold, 150 wood - Yes/No?
“Heck, yeah!” I said.
Immediately, the worker unit's icon moved through the trees in the direction of the gold vein. It really annoyed me that I didn't even have the 100 gold to hire my third worker unit to help out. But such are things when you are just starting out. Later, I hoped to have dozens of these units toiling away on buildings, mines, and defenses.
A worry tickled the back of my brain. I selected the half unit of footmen which had been guarding the woodyard. Then I assigned them to the gold vein. They moved as well, a short distance behind the worker unit.
This meager defense of the gold mine would have to do for now. I was just grateful the thing actually existed.
Another quick glance at the map overview of the base showed nothing else of note. Workers chipped away in the quarry, and the other half unit of footmen stood guard at the banner's altar.
So if the gold mine is taken care of, did I still want to follow this path? Scouting north toward Amara's base seemed the more prudent use of my time.
But as I turned to go, something further down the path caught my eye.
Cautiously, I approached.
The path ended at a small open space between the trees. In the middle of this little clearing was a massive ogre.
He was kneeling, head bowed down. His wrists were shackled and bound by chains to giant iron loops in the ground.
His armor was patchwork, exposing acres of green skin crisscrossed with scars.
Now what do we have here? I thought. The being was easily taller than me while kneeling and as wide as a supply wagon.
I called up its information.
Name: Grax
Unit: Champion
Race: Ogre
Hit Points: 500
Speed: 40
A former champion of Y'Godda's army.
Cost to free: 1,200 Battle Points.
Whoa. Nice, but I couldn't afford him at the moment. I'd need to kill more trolls to get there first. Or Amara, again.
I chuckled at the last thought.
Hearing me, the ogre tilted his head up and looked around.
“Who is there?” Grax grumbled
. His voice was deep and resonant.
Figuring I was safe while he was chained I slipped out of my Shadow Form. “Hello,” I said.
The humanoid regarded me, then nodded. “You are the red commander,” he said. “Might you be here to free me from these chains?”
I shook my head. “Sorry, that will have to wait a little while. Can't afford you.”
Grax suddenly pulled violently at his chains, causing me to take a couple of steps back. Man, was he big.
“I will fight for you, Commander. Of that there is no doubt. Enemies with be crushed and victory will be yours with me at your side.”
I held up a hand. “I don't need any convincing, my friend. My army is in desperate need of a champion such as yourself. But the time is not right. I do promise to return and free you from your bounds.”
The green giant nodded. “I hope that you return soon. It has been ages since I've fought in battle and I crave the smell of blood and the sounds of agony!”
Laying it on a little thick, I thought. I'm already sold on him. Getting this guy on my side would be a priority. If for nothing more than to ensure Amara didn't get him first.
I said, “Worry not, Champion. Your time for killing is close at hand. I will return soon.”
Before he could engage me with more of his sales pitch I waved and turned to leave.
“Blood and agony!” he bellowed. “The symphony of battle!”
Okay then, I thought and hurried back down the path.
A quick glance from the safety of the trees showed that the grassy plains were clear. I summoned Smoke and mounted up.
How many other Champions were hidden away on the map? With so much forest there could be several of them. And expensive to hire, too.
My attention went to my resource status line.
As I watched, the gold amount increased, making me smile. From my command menu I selected the Keep and bought my third unit of workers. Their icon instantly appeared by the Keep.
I then selected build Archery Range.
Build Archery Range. Cost 700 gold, 200 wood – Yes/No?
On a hunch I selected yes, and when I pointed at my map a tiny red square appeared. Perfect! I didn't have to be actually present at the base to build things. This undoubtedly was meant to free players to take to the field as opposed to staying holed up in their base mico-managing everything.
I placed the range next to the barracks and assigned the new worker unit to it.
Then, from the barracks menu, I selected to train another unit of footmen. Now all my money was gone, and I had to wait.
I called up the Keep info screen again and grimaced at its upgrade requirements. The stone needed was steep, yet, without the upgrade, I couldn't get more workers. I ordered the new worker unit to head to the quarry once the archery range was complete.
“By Y'Godda, it shall be done!” hollered the unit leader via chat with enthusiasm.
With my base management duties done for the moment, I turned Smoke north. We followed the curve of the plain's direction to the northeast until the trees on the northern side stopped.
Here, a wide river cut across the plains from west to east until it vanished into the forest on the opposite side.
Directly in its middle was a wide stone platform, which formed a kind of bridge across the water. An altar sat at its center.
This was where I had to bring Amara's banner.
Wary, I slowly approached. The flat ground I followed continued to the east then curved southward. On my map it looked like the southern section would make one big circle, with forest in the middle.
The scout suddenly reported in. “All done,” he said, expression serious.
From the map I could tell there had been nothing of note in the remainder of the forest which partially encircled the base.
“Okay, go here, please.” I tapped the forest line directly ahead of me, on the east side. “Stay hidden and watch for approaching enemies from the north.”
This river appeared to be the middle choke point between the two halves of the map. Past the river, the forest resumed. Identical looking grassy plains curved northeast and northwest. The entire map must form a figure eight, with the river and platform at its middle.
When Amara or any of her units moved south, they'd have to cross here. Having the scout placed nearby would give me fair warning of the next attack.
The scout nodded once and closed the chat window. I shook my head. Having NPCs activate, and even terminate visual chats was new for me, and I can't say I was getting use to it.
As I got closer to the altar, its details became more clear. It was nearly identical to the one at my base, entangled skeletons with the top one extending an arm, waiting to grasp a banner.
The wide platform had no defenses. Bringing the banner here, let alone keeping it safe for five minutes, seemed a near impossible task. How could you defend it?
Footmen Unit training complete.
I smiled. That would do the trick.
With just enough gold, I started another unit to training. Then, selecting the new unit, I ordered them to move north to my position and guard the altar. I'd wait here until they arrived, then...
Movement to the northwest caught my eye.
A group of trolls were approaching on foot. But these were not grunts. Workers.
As they got closer I could see they were wearing blue shirts under overalls. But their leggings only went down a little past their knees, giving them a comical look. Each held a hammer or axe.
A quick look beyond them, and to the northeast approach showed they were alone.
I laughed, and summoned my bow, waiting until they got within range.
“Easy pickings,” I said with a smirk.
“I'll say!” came a shout from behind me.
I whirled to see Amara in mid-leap from atop the altar, descending upon me.
With no time to react I could only bring up my bow in a feeble attempt to block her sword.
But she crashed into me, driving her weapon straight through my chest. The force of the sudden attack knocked me off of Smoke, and I fell to the ground.
Flat on my back, my avatar had become paralyzed. I knew what this meant.
Amara bent over me, leering. “Payback's a FILTERED, ain't it, honey?” She wrenched the sword from my chest then turned her attention to poor Smoke.
As my screen darkened, I cursed myself for being so stupid. Then a message appeared before my vision.
You Have Been Slain in Battle!
Then my screen went black.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Amara Frostwalker has killed Vivan Valesh. +1,000 Battle Points for Amara Frostwalker.
For several moments after my avatar's death, I yelled a stream of profanities with Amara's name attached to them, until I was blue in the face.
She'd hidden near the altar, probably under the platform itself, in Shadow Form. She knew that the approaching troll workers would probably distract me enough for her to sneak attack.
That's the second time she'd caught me off guard.
A thirty second timer counted down against the blackness of my view-screen. It was all I could do but glower at it.
A new system message appeared:
Your Mount has been killed.
More profanities, more glowering.
The thirty seconds felt like hours as adrenaline pulsed through my system. There was no doubt now that Amara had played a Battle Field session before. Possibly several.
And I was the Battle Field noob she got to toy with.
The counter reached zero and my screen brightened.
Vivian Valesh has been reborn to the world. Let the Battle continue!
My avatar was no longer at the middle, but was looking up at a low ceiling. I sat up to find I was on a raised stone slab in a cramped room. Fire sconces on the floor were the only source of light. Cob webs hung from the beams above and murals of battles draped across the stone walls.
A crypt.
An a
scending stairway could be seen through the crypt's only door.
I stood and looked my avatar's body over. There was no sword wound in my chest and my cloak and cloth armor were undamaged. The health indicator on my screen showed my hit points at 100%. Nothing was missing from my inventory either (not that I could access it anyway).
