by J D Astra
I wound my way through the half-packed Great Room, getting nods and greetings from many of the citizens as I passed. I’d quickly gone from Intruding Traveler to Woman with a Plan in the last few hours.
“Firebrand,” said a man with a nod as we passed each other down the war room hall. Though many of them knew my actual name, they’d taken to calling me Firebrand instead. Sort of endearing, and badass.
I dipped my head to him in return and pushed through the war room door. The groups of strategists with their team leaders were still huddled in their chosen spots. Some in a corner on the floor, using the dirt like a whiteboard, others at the table, animated at the idea of using illusions to fuel the panic in the residential district.
Whatever tactics they chose were fine by me, as long as we had an understanding that only guards and soldiers would be harmed, and as many casualties that could be prevented, should be. We didn’t want rebels getting hurt either, so avoiding conflict as much as possible and sowing chaos instead was this huge mission’s primary objective.
“Traveler,” a Wode woman said with a curled lip as I approached Arcona. That was the other nickname I’d developed around here.
Most of the citizens had been at the Qat’ig Gual where I challenged Patrick, and most who’d attended thought Patrick was guilty. Some, though, still thought I was the asshole who came in and ruined their tight-knit family. I’d come to realize that them calling me “Traveler” was the equivalent of calling me “asshole.”
“Finally,” Arcona groaned without looking up from her tactician’s offerings. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
I scowled and checked the game time. It was still two minutes before four in the morning. Though my patience was thin, and my many debuffs making me quite grumpy, I replied without venom, “Thank you for waiting.”
Arcona’s head shot up and she locked eyes with me. I could see some kind of retort was on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it back and returned to her paperwork. I pulled up next to her and leaned on the table in a mimicking pose.
An impatient sigh escaped her lips after a moment of me looking over her shoulder, and she straightened up. “Dismissed.” Baggy-eyed rebels turned their heads to Arcona at her order. “Get a meal and return in thirty minutes for final orders and departure preparation.”
Chatter kicked up in the room as several groups rushed for the door. They’d been working for five hours with few breaks, but the ideas had been flowing, and we were close to having a solid plan. They were excited to get back to the business of being rebels.
I turned for the door and Arcona called me back. “Not you,” she said, her tone holding more than just annoyance. She wanted to talk, and not to a subordinate, but that was all she had in the compound, apart from me.
She pulled out the chair next to her and pointed at it. I supposed it was the kindest gesture she’d offered me to date, so I took it. The seat was stiff, but comfortable. Many long hours had been spent in this seat by the great rebel leaders of Alaunhylles for over three hundred years.
Without a word, Arcona walked to the back of the long room, where a covered tray sat. She picked it up and brought it to sit between us. There were condensation marks on the cover, and I could smell the salty, smoky meat that was hiding under it.
When the lid came back, I could hardly contain my grin. Bacon. She had freaking bacon. And... was that coffee? There was only one plate, but it was loaded down with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, fried potatoes, and a muffin of some kind. Next to the delicious looking standard American breakfast was a bowl of Quarry Grub.
“I had this made for you.” She took the plate off the tray and set it down in front of me with the coffee, a spoon, and a ripped cloth. I didn’t know how to reply. Half of me wanted to just dig in, to hell with manners and thank yous, I was starving! But, she’d had it made especially for me. Either it was a trick, some kind of test, or Arcona was seriously trying to turn over a new leaf with me.
“It looks fantastic. I’m very grateful.” I smiled to her as she plopped down in her seat at the head of the table and slid the tray with grub on it under her face.
“Don’t expect it again,” she grumbled as she stuffed her spoon in the bowl and ladled up a mouthful.
Pleasantries over, got it. I snatched up the coffee first. It was the palate cleanser, the meal starter. I sniffed at the wiggling streams of steam and closed my eyes as I was teleported to a donut shop down the street from Osmark Technologies. This was their Colombian dry roast with hazelnut. Paired with steamed whole milk and a drop of chocolate, it became the best drink ever.
It was home in a cup.
“What is it?” Arcona grunted, and my eyes shot open.
“It’s just...” I faltered. Should I even mention it? I doubted Arcona really cared.
“Well?” she barked.
I shook my head, a tiny grin spreading over my lips. “It reminds me of where I come from.”
I put the mug to my lips and took a searing-hot sip. Oh gods, yes. I hummed at the taste and couldn’t help but sit back in the oversized chair to revel in it. It was better than the stuff back IRL. I sucked in another gulp and held the burning liquid in my mouth as a notification appeared.
<<<>>>
Buffs Added
Western Brew: Restore 150 HP over 30 seconds. Increase Health regen by 18%; duration, 30 minutes. Caffeinated: Base Intelligence increased by 5 points; duration, 30 minutes. Base Vitality increased by 3 points; duration, 30 minutes. Base Strength increased by 3 points; duration, 30 minutes.
Remember, with enough good coffee, all things are possible.
<<<>>>
I swallowed and whispered, “So good.”
“Have you looked over the final plans?” Arcona smacked her lips between words as she eyed my bacon.
“Not just yet.” I smirked, leaned forward, and dropped a slice on her tray.
She scowled at it and said, “I don’t want my belly too full for combat. Makes me slow, and stupid.”
I shrugged and stuffed the pig belly peace offering in my mouth. It was awesome, as was to be expected in Eldgard. Without another thought I grabbed the spoon and crammed a pile of eggs in on top of it. The texture was fluffy, the flavor was mellow, and it was perfection. It felt like I hadn’t had a proper meal in years. The Quarry Grub was good, and the buff was awesome, but eggs and bacon with coffee beat out most meals in the world on any day.
Arcona fell silent, her eyes losing focus as she stuffed another bite in her mouth.
“So why do you dislike Otto so much?” I prodded.
Arcona snapped back to the room, her gaze hard. She speared her spoon into the bowl of mush and growled, “I disliked him because he was branded a traitor.” She paused and then began again at a rambling pace. “He is a weak and terrible leader who had a soft father and developed soft feelings from it. He was never fit to be a captain and shouldn’t have been able to attain that rank. His connection to the Soulbound was all that helped him get there.”
I raised a brow and nodded along as I shoveled more eggs in.
Arcona sucked in a deep breath before she went on. “And his skills are seriously underdeveloped. His axe proficiency is not as high as mine.” She grabbed her spoon and scooped up some Quarry Grub. “And he’s shorter than most.”
“Uh huh.” I could hardly suppress my grin. “So how long have you been in love with him?” I jeered and took a big bite of the muffin-thing.
Arcona beat her fist on the table. “I will not be baited like a teenage girl! I harbor no feelings for Otto, or any other good-for-nothing fodder.”
I pushed the puffy corn cake into my cheeks. “Uh huh.”
“Enough!” Her spoon smacked against the wall as she reached back for her axe. She turned to see her food decorating the map that hung there, her utensil lying on the ground, covered in dirt. I swallowed my food before it could squish through my nose in a fit of laughter.
Arcona threw her chair back and retrieved the spoon f
rom the ground. Without wiping it off, she locked eyes with me, dipped it in her food, and stuffed the bite in her mouth.
She chewed exaggeratedly, then slammed the spoon down and walked away. I wasn’t entirely sure what that show of force had been intended to do: scare me or gross me out. Whatever the reason, I had another piece of the little Otto puzzle. Hopefully I could save the puzzle before it became nothing more than echoes of code in an archive server.
City Ablaze
GREEN FOLIAGE RUSTLED as we made our way up the ridge of the Ancient’s Grove and crouched at the edge of the tree line. Arcona had surprised me with the alternative exit from the rebel hideout. All along, we’d been under the Ancient’s Grove, just a stone’s throw away from the Alaunhylles Keep.
Our little ridge overlooked the south end of the quarry, which butted right up against the archive. The purple barrier of the archive wall extended across the war district, which arched all the way around the Keep and extended to the market district.
The Ancient’s Grove ran along the west border of the quarry, past the walled in archive, all the way to the Keep. The Keep itself was guarded with a more physical barrier, and the trees had been manicured to ensure nothing hung within dangerous reach of the ramparts. The Keep walls were nearly two hundred feet high, and many of the trees in the Ancient’s Grove were well above that, but none of them close enough to the castle for us to use to our advantage.
“What’s the exit signal?” Kira said as she eyed me, then everyone else in the circle. She was the highest-ranking Illusionist that had stayed behind after Patrick’s departure. Her objective on this daring run was to promote fear and chaos in the residential, market, and business districts.
I chewed my lip. “We only need the initial distraction to pull the majority of the troops out of the district. If you or your team is at risk, leave when you need to leave. The old portal entrances should be safe enough, so mark the closest one to your district on the map now.”
Eyes around the semicircle glazed over as they opened their menus and picked out their fastest escape route.
“Once we’ve secured everyone, I’ll use my spell Rain of Fire above our position. It’s a thousand tiny fireballs, hard to miss even in broad daylight. That will be the signal to return to base, unnoticed would be best, but don’t die to conceal the portal location. When we have Eisen back, we can christen the new Bindings Book that’s attached to new portal locations.”
The other team leaders, Zakarey, Dart, and Lenny, all nodded in understanding. I wasn’t fond of the idea of bringing Lenny. Not because I didn’t think he was capable, but because I knew he was the rebel’s only high-level blacksmith. If anything happened to him, it could set the rebels back significantly. But if we failed, their home would be destroyed. We had to risk it all.
Arcona jumped in. “Our secondary goal will be to damage the armory in the war district. Lenny and his apprentice Logan made several explosive charges...” Her eyes lost focus for a moment, and she produced a number of round metal balls with wicks. “We can cull the wolf pack by removing their teeth.” She grinned, then whisked the explosive balls away into her inventory.
A similar looking ball with a long wick appeared in Lenny’s hand, and he grinned manically. “I’m gonna blow up their wall.”
Dart flipped his blade in the air, then rolled it over the back of his hand. “The Keep guards’ll never see me, but they’ll know I was there.”
Zakarey, a fierce Risi with a thick black Mohawk, pounded a fist into his open palm. “The quarry will be nothing but powder when we’re done with it.”
Arcona pulled her dagger from its holster at her hip and clenched it tight as she thrust her fist to the center of our semicircle. Dart moved next, his blade already in hand, and bumped Arcona’s fist. I bumped my daggerless fist into Arcona’s and Dart’s, the rest of the rebels following suit.
“Today, we will make our presence undeniable,” Arcona said with confidence. “Today, the tyranny of New Viridia will tremble at our cry for freedom. Their strongholds are not as strong as they think, we will prove that. And tonight, we will celebrate our victory.”
“Hoo-hoo eyaw!” the group chanted in unison as we stood and broke apart. Dart and Kira disappeared near instantly, and Zakarey took off through the brush at a breakneck speed to collect his small crew of five.
Lenny approached me, a stoic mask guarding his emotion. “Be safe, lass.” He patted my shoulder twice and gave it a squeeze.
I smiled. “You keep yourself safe, too. There are many lessons still for Logan to learn.”
Lenny’s eyes glistened with moisture and he nodded before turning away and running into the brush.
Arcona and I stood alone in the shade of the wide-leafed trees. The midmorning sun was obscured by clouds, but it was a warm day nonetheless, activating my passive buff, Residual Heat. I could see a small sheen of sweat accumulating on Arcona’s brow, but she was still as she looked over the city.
“Do you really think this is going to work?” she asked, the confidence she’d once had evaporated.
I cast my gaze over the city, finding the massive Champion’s Statue some miles away, nestled in the heart of the city. “Yes.”
She turned to me. “What if he’s dead?”
I gritted my teeth. “Then we’ll kill them all in his name.”
We fell silent, watching the city for signs of the chaos we’d planted in the water supply hours ago. I prayed in my mind to whatever gods of V.G.O. would listen for it to work. If the poison didn’t do its job, the entire plan would fall apart. We didn’t have time to do trials in the underground, we just had to hope.
“He’s very fond of you.” Arcona said matter-of-factly.
I quirked an eyebrow. “Otto?”
She nodded.
“How do you know?” I asked.
Arcona straightened, resting her hand on the hilt of her dagger. “He took you to the Sanctum Memoriam. He wanted you with him when he was weakest.” Her tone held sadness, and spite. I wanted to tell her that it wasn’t her fault, or mine—the game made him close to me. He was programmed to want me around, even when I was an asshole. But telling her that could break her, and it wouldn’t do much good anyway.
“I’m grateful to have a friend like him.”
She grunted a laugh. “Yes, you are lucky.”
The clouds above parted, and splotches of light peppered the city before us. The ground shook, and a low rumble alerted us to the action getting started. White smoke puffed up from the farthest end of the quarry, near the residential district, and suddenly the same alarms from the archive echoed over the open white pit.
I checked the time: 11:25, five minutes early.
Arcona groaned. “Always eager. We should go now.”
I grimaced and shrugged. “More glory for Zakarey, I suppose.”
Arcona chuckled and pulled the dagger from her belt. She cut her thumb and walked to the trunk of a fat tree just behind us. “This goes to the edge of the wharf,” she said as she smeared her thumb against the smooth white bark of the tree. “It’s a twenty-minute walk to the Champion’s Statue from there. Just in time for everything to be in full swing.”
I stepped up to the shimmering pink portal that revealed the dark underside of a dock beyond. I could hear faint signs of mayhem coming from the other side and smirked at the one victory. The Camoa-moa hadn’t let us down.
“This is going to work.” I said it to myself as much as I was saying it to Arcona. It was going to be hard, but I was stronger now than ever before.
Arcona straightened up and lifted her chin. “I know.” She didn’t wait for me, passing through the portal without another word.
I followed after her and was met with a swift temperature change. My Residual Heat buff disappeared in a flash as my feet splashed into cold seawater. It smelled of sewage and old fish. When I looked down, I could see we were standing in a bit of both.
“Ew,” I whispered as I closed my eyes.
; “You’re so delicate,” Arcona grumbled, and my eyes shot open.
Heat rose in my cheeks but I had no good retort. I suppose relative to Arcona, I was.
“Move, this way!” There was a shout above us followed by the pounding feet of booted soldiers. So, the poison had really done its work.
Arcona led us through the stagnant filth of the wharf. The water level dropped with every step until we were crouching on the sand of the beach. It was too dark for me to see much other than the small rays of light passing between the cracks of the docks, but Arcona knew the way well.
The sounds of fear, terror, laughter, and madness above grew quiet as we passed into an area where the light dropped to nothing more than a glimmer. Arcona struggled, her massive frame squished down by the lack of space, but finally managed to get onto her back. She pulled the dagger from her belt with one hand, using the other to tap on the wood above, rah-ta-tap-ta, rah-ta. It was the same knock Otto had done on more than one occasion.
There were low voices above us, whispering hurriedly, and then footsteps across the floor. Arcona readied her dagger at the sound of large, heavy objects being pushed across the wood. The floor above us thumped, then again, and a pause.
“Pull harder, ye dolt,” an older man whispered.
The floor thumped and creaked as another voice grunted in strain. With one more great thud, the wood gave way and spilled candlelight into the sandy cubby where we waited.
“We weren’t expecting you yet,” came the older man’s voice as a hand reached down into the darkness.
Arcona holstered her dagger and pulled herself up by the edges of the opening, ignoring the offered hand. I crawled my way through the fine sand and grabbed hold of that offering. I was so ready to be done with this place and its reek. The young man, who had a patch over his eye, grunted as he pulled me up, bracing both his brown-booted, baggy-pantsed legs on either side of the opening.
“It’s you!” the boy, who was no more than sixteen, exclaimed as he panted from the effort of dragging me up. “You’re the Firebrand everyone is looking for. You’re so—”
