by Galen Wolf
Armand curses.
We’ve got to expect some losses. I just can’t afford too many.
The firefight between the archers continues. I hear a crash as the wooden door to the tower explodes and is gone. Now they have to get through the iron grille.
I hurry down the stone spiral staircase. I stop briefly to see the trolls straining at the iron grille. It seems it won’t burn so they are trying brute force.
The trolls are taking it in turn to slam against the iron bars. We don’t have long before we’re in the tower. I didn’t expect it to be this easy for them. As soon as I can afford an upgrade, I’m getting one.
The only positive news is that they’re concentrating their attack on the tower and leaving the farms and brewery alone.
I don’t stop on the ground floor. Instead, I go down into the cellar and find the wooden trapdoor that leads down into the mine. I have a large stone slab here to place over if I need to barricade it. I’d anticipated the enemy would get into the mine first and try to come up. Looks like it’ll be the other way round. I lift the trapdoor and drop into the cool of the mine. One of the miners is there guarding the door. He raises his mattock to attack, but I put up a hand. “It’s me. Where’s Thorvald?”
“By the main entrance.”
I look up at the trapdoor. “Is there any way you can barricade that against people coming down from the tower?”
I see it has a metal ring in it on this side as well.
“We could put an iron bar through the metal ring so they couldn’t pull it up?”
It’s a good idea. They’ll smash or burn their way in eventually, but his metal bar might buy us time.
“Do it then, please.”
He nods and I walk off in search of Thorvald. He’s with the rest of the miners in the entrance cavern. The big wooden doors are closed and barricaded but chinks of daylight come through. The mules and Spirit are there. Spirit neighs softly and Henry says, “What’s up outside?”
I grimace. “You don’t want to know.”
Thorvald frowns. “Not going well?”
“We’re not beat yet.”
I mount Spirit. Luckily the cavern is high enough to let me do it.
Henry says, “Want me to come too? I’ve got a mean kick and a worse bite,”
I smile. He means well, but I can’t afford to lose him. “Thanks for the offer, but let me go first. If it looks like we’re really losing, you can be with the reinforcements.”
“And me,” Thorvald says.
I first think to tell him to keep safe, but if we lose this fight, I’ve lost everything. I won’t be able to rebuild the tower and the mine. I nod grimly. “Yes, but wait for my orders.”
I’m not going to use the miners and farmers until it’s absolutely necessary. Putting them up against trolls would be murder. I need to take the big ones down myself.
“Thorvald, can you open the mine door, then close it behind me?”
Thorvald pulls open the big wooden doors that scrape open in the grit. I look out and see one Dwemmer archer remaining, that makes me feel better, until I see we have only three soldiers left on top of the tower. I’m relieved that Armand is one of them. He has his own bow out and as I watch, he kills the last archer. That should leave them free to lean over and shoot down at the trolls and hobgoblins near the door.
The two trolls and troll sergeant are by the iron grille and it looks like they’ve almost battered it in. The warlock is behind them and the hobgoblin sergeant is wandering over to the brewery with a burning torch in his hand.
That can’t happen, so he has to be first.
I spur Spirit into a canter, then into a gallop. I have my sword out and it burns yellow and blue, the flames fluttering as we charge the hobgoblin. He turns when we’re about ten yards away. I get +10% from mounted attack and I really really need a crit now.
I strike him.
He slashes at me with his sword but misses. He can’t hit me in my steel armour. Spirit rears up and I cut down with my sword.
He misses again and I jab him and this time get a crit for 576. The hobgoblin dies with a scream.
I turn Spirit. The Warlock is next on our list. I put my head down, spur Spirit into a gallop and close the gap between us. Spirit’s hooves thunder across the turf. The warlock fires a bolt of fire.
My armour protects me from most of the blast and only 30 damage gets through. I also have 5% Fire Resist on each piece of my armour, except my shield, for a total of 20%. So only 24 gets through.
He gets another blast in for a further 24 before I hit him. And I hit him hard.
I slash the warlock across his chest and he falls back screaming.
He can’t have much more than that so I jab him again and he dies with a shriek.
That just leaves the trolls. I see they’re nearly through the iron gate. The Troll sergeant despatches one of the trolls for me while he and the other finish smashing their way through.
The troll rushes at me swinging his club. I go low on Spirit and charge.
I manage to hit him, but only for 12. I really need some crits here. He swings and the club connects, smashing me for 30. He swings again for another 30 and I’m knocked off the horse.
I roll on the ground in my heavy armour as the troll rushes up and I jab upwards while blocking his club with my shield. Another 30 damage on me and only 12 on him. I grab a health potion 50 and sip. Then it’s on cool-down.
I jab again and this time I crit for 36.
I wish I had the skill to see what his total health is. I’ve taken 60 off him and he might have 600 or so. This could go really badly for me.
Just then an arrow, then another arrow thud into the troll’s back. Armand and his archers are shooting at him. This might work. I also wish I had the skill Turtle Up in Dodge. That allows me to progressively increase my dodge rating for a short period of time. But if wishes were horses, then beggars would ride. And they don’t.
I get another hit on him then another. I sip health potion. All the time the archers are firing into the troll’s back, getting crits because he’s turned his back on them. The troll turns in a rage. His aggro algorithm has finally identified the archers as a bigger threat than me. So now he turns his back on me and I hack at him, getting crits. I take another sip of Health 50 when it comes off cool-down and slash him down.
Thank the Lord, he dies.
A cheer goes up from the soldiers and Armand on the tower top. Taking that as their cue, the mine doors open and Thorvald and the miners rush out with their mattocks, followed by the farmers with their pitchforks and Jason the Brewer, wielding a hammer.
This could be a blood bath. I remount Spirit just as the trolls break through the iron grille. Hearing the row below, Armand and his two soldiers rush down. I see them appear at the bottom of the stairs and the Troll smashes the first one with his club, sending the guy crumpling. Armand takes on the troll.
That leaves the troll sergeant to me. He turns and opens his warty mouth in a smile.
It’s him and me.
I spur Spirit and we charge.
18
Sir Luc
We’re mid charge when the troll sergeant stops smiling and starts running at me. He swings his spiked club when I jab under it. The sword hits, but clangs off his studded leather armour. I beat his dodge, but not his armour rating.
He swings back and hits me.
I can’t take many of these, and pray God he doesn’t crit.
Over his shoulder I see Armand fighting the troll in the entrance of the tunnel. The troll h
as already killed one of the soldiers but they’ve wounded it.
I hear yelling and turn to see Thorvald leading the miners and the farmers. They think they’re coming to my rescue, but if they tangle with this troll sergeant they’re coming to their death.
I shout, “Thorvald, go and help Armand in the tower entrance.”
He hesitates, then obeys my order and leads his troop towards the troll.
That has distracted me enough to get hit again.
I sip a Health 50 and I’m up to 190 again. This isn’t working. I rein Spirit it and turn him round so we’re out of the Troll Sergeant’s reach. We canter backwards drawing us with him. I need to think about how I can win this.
I risk a glance towards the tower and I see the last troll is dead. Armand is standing bloody, spear in hand. Thorvald and his miners played their part too. There is only one soldier as well as Armand, but they read my mind and draw their bows.
Arrows shoot and hit the Troll Sergeant in his back. He’s jogging after me as I retreat on Spirit. They’re hitting him but I guess they’re doing minimal damage. He turns. They’ve done more damage than me, so they’ve now got his aggro, which could be problematic.
I yell over to Armand. “Don’t climb the tower. He’ll trap you there. Go down into the mine.”
The troll runs over to the tower entrance and my workers sensibly scatter. The miners back off but don’t run. I yell, “Thorvald, just keep clear of this one. There’s nothing you can do.”
Nothing much I can do either. Then I hear the sound of a knight’s horn blowing.
I turn to see a knight coming over the hill. He’s galloping towards us. Way behind him on a pony is a figure I recognise — it’s Bernard The Alchemist — but I don’t recognise the knight’s arms. His shield displays a yellow blazing sun on a blue field.
The Troll Sergeant is about to enter the tower. I’m guessing the approaching knight is on our side. I see him level his lance. He’s about thirty yards away now and I hear the thumping of his horse’s hooves on the ground. The trouble is the troll will soon step into the tower, if I don’t stop him, and knight’s charge will be wasted. I need to get the troll’s aggro so I charge the back of the troll, slashing down with my sword. I hit him but do no damage, but the mere fact of hitting him is enough to get his aggro now Armand has stopped firing.
The troll turns and I pull Spirit up so he turns and we back off. The troll is now running after us and he pays no heed to the charging knight whose visor is down and his lance levelled.
The knight hits the troll straight in the back with his gold and blue painted lance. That’s an autocrit with x 4 damage. The troll screams with rage and goes tumbling over. The knight quickly dismounts. He closes on the troll, shield raised and rams his sword into to the troll sergeant’s belly. Two hits and the troll dies.
I’m grateful. This unknown knight has saved my bacon.
I dismount Spirit and go over. By now, Bernard has caught up on his pony.
“Hey, Gorrow! What’s up, man?”
I grin at Bernard but approach the mystery knight and bow. “I’m in your debt. I just couldn’t hit it. Thank you, sir...”
“Sir Luc,” the knight raises his visor and smiles.
I’m taken aback. “Sir Luc! You made it. You got yourself knighted.”
Luc gives me a manly hug and our metal plate clangs. He says, “Nice to see you Gorrow. I got your message via dove and we hurried up here.”
“Hell for leather,” Bernard said.
I’d sent Squire Luc a message via dove, but I wasn’t expecting Sir Luc. “I didn’t recognise your livery.”
Luc says, “I got to choose my coat of arms when I got knighted.”
“By King Arthur?”
He nods. “Absolutely.”
I think of my own slow progress. “How come you got knighted so fast?”
He winks. “I put in the hard work.” He looks around at my little settlement. “But this is cool. I don’t have anything like this.”
I blush. “I just wanted to have a firm basis before I went after my knighthood.”
“You need some town walls,” Bernard says. “Or these guys will be all over you.” He points to the corpses of the trolls and Dwemmers.
He’s right. But I only have so much money. Maybe I’ve bitten off more than I can chew, making a settlement at Silver Drift. Maybe I should have got my knighthood first.
“What level are you, Gorrow?” Luc asks.
I’m almost ashamed to tell him I’m only Level 7.
He shrugs. “Well, you’ve just got to stick in. Sir Duncan was a fantastic mentor. I learned so much.”
“Learned so much from the wars,” Bernard adds.
“How they going?”
They both frown. Bernard says, “Not so good. King Arthur has taken his best knights and they’re fighting up near Carwinley now.”
Luc says, “But Satanus has brought in the heavy guns. He’s got a black dragon and three worms as well as all sorts of beast men and werewolves and vampires.”
“You’re best off up here out of it,” Bernard says. Sir Luc says nothing to that and neither do I.
“Show us the mine?” Sir Luc says.
I do that and then when we stroll over to the brewery and they taste Jason’s Silver Drift Craft beer, Bernard says, “You need to get your level up, Gorrow. We’re both Level 10 now. You could be too.”
“If I hadn’t wasted all my time up here.”
Sir Luc sips his beer from a pewter tankard. “This beer’s really good,” he says to Jason, whose face twists into the biggest smile I’ve seen.
Sir Luc says, “It’s not a waste. I think you’ve accomplished something.”
“Now you need to protect it,” Bernard says, wiping beer froth from his mouth with the back of his hand. “Get those walls. Even a wooden palisade.”
I spread out my hands. “I know. It’s just money.”
“You could sell this,” Sir Luc raises his tankard full of foaming ale.
I’d half thought of that of course.
“And there’s the mine. None of your miners died, did they?” Bernard asks.
I shake my head. “No. Some soldiers though.”
“Get more.”
“Money again.”
“Sell ore, sell beer. What’s growing in the fields?”
“Oats, hops, barley.”
“Sell that. Sell what you don’t need.”
Sir Luc says, “Then come questing with us.”
“I promised I’d go with Sir Mercurius.”
“Then do that. Get your knighthood as quick as you can. King Arthur needs everyone levelled for the big battle that’s coming.”
I hear everything they’re saying. I need to level as well as build my settlement. I’m not sure how I can do both right now though.
Bernard says, “Am I okay to log out here?”
“Sure of course. You don’t need to ask.”
“Just being polite.” With that he gives me a mock salute and disappears.
Sir Luc stands. “Me too if that’s okay. I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
“That’s fine. Thank you for saving me.”
“You’re welcome. You’d have done the same for me.”
I guess I would. I watch him disappear as he logs off. Bernard has gone too, so I’m just here with my NPCs.
Jason offers me more beer, but I’ve had enough. “We need to keep it to sell.” Jason seems bright for an NPC. I say, “How would you like to be my business manager?”
He shakes his head. “But I’m your brewer.”
“I want you to keep on brewing, but someone needs to oversee the selling of the beer and other commodities.”
“Well…”
“I have Armand looking over the soldiers and Thorvald managing the mine. I need someone to oversee the farms and other things up here.”
“Well if that’s what you want, boss.”
“I think you’ll
do just fine.”
I spend the next hour or so of game time setting up some cargo caravan schedules. There are macros I can write so that when I produce so much oats that it sends a mule train to Camelot to sell off the goods. There are other tweaks I set up and then I meet with Armand, Thorvald and Jason.
We sit in the brewery by the window watching the wind blow through a sprouting field of barley.
“You three are my main men,” I say. They look pleased. “I need you, Armand to take the remaining soldier...”
“David.”
“Yeah, David.” I didn’t know his name. That’s bad. “So you go down with the mules as soon as we’ve got a good shipment of ore. Take whatever surplus beer, oats, barley and hops we have.” I look to Jason. “You’ll know how much of the barley and hops we can spare. Keep the fields growing.” I turn back to Armand. “So take the mules when they’re fully loaded and hire ten soldiers. Then come back.”
“We might need more mules, boss.” Jason is already warming to his new role.
“So, with the profits, Armand, I want you to buy two more mules. If you don’t have enough for two mules and ten soldiers, prioritise the mules and get extra soldiers the next run.”
I think about logging off, but there’s something about the game that’s very addictive so I stay and play through the night. Though I’m tired, we’ve managed three trips with ore and produce. We now have eleven soldiers under Armand and five mules. Henry seems to have taken up his role as mule leader without my directly appointing him. Still, it’s good because he keeps the other mules in order.
When I think I’ve got enough cash, the soldiers are drilling, the farmers farming and the brewer brewing, I make a trip to Camelot myself and order wooden palisade walls from Oliver Stone the architect. The walls cost me 20,000 marks which is pretty much all I’ve got, but that’s fine.
I watch while Oliver Stone’s joiners and carpenters put up the walls. The walls are twelve feet high with sharpened stakes. There’s a walkway right round and we have three gates, guarded by towers. The gates face west to Croglin, south to Alston and east to the evil village of Carrionburg, which Satanus has retaken.
Armand has his soldiers patrolling them. I know the bad guys can get through eventually, but it’s another line of defence. Soon I’ll upgrade to limestone and then sandstone. I might do this before I upgrade the tower itself. But the wooden palisade will keep the boggarts and low level evil minions out and keep our crops safe from wandering animals.
