Defenders of the Realm

by Dave Willmarth

  Alexander smiled back. “What fun would they be if they behaved?”

  “Can we help you with something” Regina asked.

  Alexander shook his head saying. “Nope, just a social visit. Thought I’d see how you’re doing up here. Everybody settling in okay?” He looked inside the barn to see a bear laying on its back in one of the stalls, snoring contentedly. He blinked his eyes a couple times, staring at the bear’s head. For a moment he could’ve sworn he saw a laser mounted there.

  “Yes, this place you constructed for us, is quite comfortable. Everyone’s claimed themselves a spot, and they seem to be getting used to the new surroundings. We’ve even had a visit from a couple of the wolves you met the other day. The alpha female and one of the younglings came to speak to Bodine. He said they wanted to thank us for their new shelter, and offered to bring meat to help feed our large pack.”

  “Are you short on supplies?” Alexander asked, concerned. “I could speak to Silverbeard about increasing our purchases.”

  “No, we’re just fine. We have plenty of hunters in our little zoo. And master Silverbeard has made sure we’re amply supplied.” Regina said as Bodine came walking out of the barn to join them.

  “Alexander! Good morning.” Bodine said, as soon as he saw Alexander.

  “Good morning Bodine. I was just checking in. Got any big plans for the day?”

  “Actually, I was thinking about walking toward the west tower and meeting your night prowler friends.” Bodine answered. “I’ve never met, or even seen one of them. Lorian was telling me about them, and I’m excited to meet some.”

  Alexander looked at his UI clock. “I’ve got some time, if you’d like company.”

  Five minutes later Alexander, Regina, Bodine, the monkeys, Jenkins and the guards, and half a dozen wolves stepped out the southern gate and headed west. Alexander had marked on their maps where the tower was, and they headed directly toward it. As they walked, Alexander summoned Tigger to join them. He and the wolves gave each other a cursory sniff before the wolves moved off to their usual perimeter positions. Jake and Bobby both leapt onto Tigger’s back and rode in comfort, reclining on their sides and looking as if they might fall asleep. Tigger didn’t seem to mind.

  The forest remained quiet around them as they walked westward among the giant trees. Alexander suspected the wolves were scaring off any wildlife that might have presented a threat. As they neared the tower, Alexander warned Bodine. “You might want to pull the wolves back here with us. I’m not sure how friendly the prowlers will be, and I don’t want any of them getting hurt.”

  Bodine looked thoughtful. “They should be okay. I can’t imagine any cat would take on a pack of six wolves—”

  He was going to say more, but Alexander interrupted. “These cats are as big as, if not bigger than, Tigger. And they’re wild. Defending their homes. Plus there are kitten’s the size of a pony that like to pounce on things. Like Max. I’d feel better if we played it safe.”

  Bodine did as he was asked, and when they reached the younger trees that surrounded the tower, the wolves were grouped together behind him. Tigger was in the lead, having met the prowlers before. Alexander walked next to him, along with Jenkins. He wished he’d brought Jules along.

  The matriarch was the first to greet them. She emerged from behind a tree, growling slightly and crouched low as if about to spring. Alexander raised a hand and spoke quietly. “Hi there mama kitty. We’re just here for a visit. To introduce your new neighbors.”

  Bodine whispered “Damn. You weren’t kidding. That’s a big cat.”

  Tigger chuffed quietly at the prowler matriarch, and she relaxed. Settling down on her stomach, she tucked her paws under her body and stared at Alexander. Taking the hint, he stepped forward and held out his hand, which she headbutted gently. He took a moment to scratch behind her ears, then called forward Regina and Bodine. “These are my friends. They’ve moved into the tower east of here. They are friendly.”

  Regina stepped forward first, holding out a hand just as Alexander had. The matriarch sniffed at it curiously, then began to purr. Regina took it as permission and stepped forward to hug the giant cat around the neck.

  Scratching and petting, she said “Oh, she’s beautiful! And she understands me.” Pointing to Bodine she whispered “This is my mate. Please don’t eat him.” With a grin, she waved Bodine forward. He too held out his hand, and the matriarch leaned forward to sniff.

  With a sudden movement, she extended her neck and seized Bodine’s forearm in her jaws. Instantly the wolves were snarling, the hair on their hackles rising. Bodine, unharmed, called out for them to stop. The big cat let him go, making a chuffing sound that Alexander was sure constituted cat laughter. She looked at Bodine’s eyes for a moment, and he chuckled. “She was testing my courage. She says I’m worthy to be mated to Regina, who she calls ‘The little one.’”

  Bodine ‘spoke’ to her for another moment, then called the wolves forward to meet her. Seeing that Bodine was uninjured, they moved with confidence, each touching noses with the cat that was easily four times their size. The monkeys sat on Tigger’s back, showing no interest at all in approaching the matriarch.

  Introductions complete, she led them the rest of the way to the tower. They found the door open, and none of the other cats in evidence. As they gathered near the door, the kittens came bounding out, with their father walking sedately behind.

  The kittens immediately pounced on Tigger, bowling the monkeys off his back. Tigger obligingly wrestled the kittens for a few moments as Bodine did another round of introductions. Jake and Bobby, never missing an opportunity for mischief, each hopped aboard a kitten and looked almost like tiny jousting knights bounding about on unruly mounts. Until, that is, the kittens decided it would be fun to play ‘knock the monkey off your sibling’s back’.

  Alexander leaned against the tower wall, watching as the kittens played, and the adults spoke. Bodine and Regina seemed to have a good bit to discuss with the prowlers. It was all telepathic, of course. So there was nothing to overhear. But watching them got Alexander thinking.

  Is there a spell that enables you to read someone’s mind? How awesome would that be? First thing I’d do is find out why Jules is so interested in killing me.

  When they were finished ‘talking’ Regina waved to Alexander.

  As he approached, Bodine said “They’ve agreed to serve as scouts for this sector of the forest, from here south to the cliffs. If anything unusual happens, they’ll come to the garrison tower and let us know. Also, the little one with the grey tail wants to see Jules.”

  Alexander smiled at the kitten, who had come to sit nearby. Jules had sort of adopted the ‘little’ one the day they’d met. “I’ll be sure to bring her back here soon.” The kitten seemed to understand him, leaning forward to butt its head against his chest.

  Tigger and the monkeys were separated from the kittens, and the group headed back to the tower. It was approaching lunch time already by the time they arrived. Alexander left Bodine and Regina to their vegetable lunch, returning to the keep via the mirror inside. He sat down in the dining area, waiting for others to join him.

  His UI lit up with a notification he’d never seen before.

  Your kingdom is under attack!

  Sworn enemies have set foot on Elysian lands and are advancing toward your position.

  That notification was quickly followed by another.

  Quest Received: Defender of Elysia

  Successfully defend Elysia against invading forces.

  Reward: Variable Experience; Title: Defender;

  Kingdom option: Do you wish to share this quest with the citizens of Elysia? Y/N

  Alexander immediately called for Jeeves: “Jeeves, loudspeaker! I want to speak to every citizen here and in Antalia! Now!” Not waiting for confirmation from his kingdom’s AI, he began to speak.

  “Attention citizens of Elysia. An unknown force has entered our land with hostile intent. I want eve
ryone prepared for battle in five minutes! Adventurers and Ministers, meet me at the front gate. Sergeants, organize your men as planned. Distribute weapons and armor to all citizens who need them. Guards, seal the outer gate the moment our people have returned. Those in the mines, barricade the entrance and protect yourselves.”

  He looked at his quest notification again, and selected “Y” to share the quest. Why waste an opportunity for his people to gain some experience? If this was going to be a major battle, they would need it.

  Walking quickly toward the outer gate, he said, “Jeeves! Where are they, and how many?”

  “I am not yet able to sense them, Alexander. At my current level, I am able to detect movement up to 1,000 yards from any structure under my control. As of now, the only beings within that range are citizens or guests of Elysia.”

  Alexander mused as he passed through the bailey of the inner wall. “That would put them out in the forest somewhere.”

  Opening guild chat, he said. “Kai, can you see anything from up there? Smoke? Movement?”

  “I am searching now, Alexander. I see nothing, but the forest is dense. And if they are drow, they will be stealthed.”

  The mentioned of stealth reminded Alexander of the caverns. “Lorian! Any report of intruders near the caverns? And who is protecting them at the moment?”

  There was a slight delay as Lorian checked with his hunters. “The hunters have detected nothing. At the moment there are three stationed in the trees near the caverns. Two rock trolls occupy the structure you built. I’ve sent one of the hunters to alert them.”

  Grimble’s voice came right behind Lorian’s. “Four more be on their way there, Alexander. Including Drog, the chief’s boy. They be runnin. Surprised ye can’t hear em! Sounds like a damned avalanche!”

  “Thank you, Grimble. Use the remaining trolls and whatever shapers you have to build yourselves a barrier. You need to be able to hold out for a few minutes in case you are attacked.” Alexander instructed, inwardly berating himself for not thinking of that earlier. There never seemed to be enough time to prepare.

  Fitz appeared next to him just as he was approaching the outer gate. Turning back toward the keep, Alexander could see most of his guildmates trotting toward him. All but Lorian, who was probably on his way down from the plateau with some of the hunters, and Lainey, Lugs, and the others who were in the forest hunting. Which reminded him.

  “Lainey? You guys see or hear anything? Where are you?”

  “We’re about 3 miles southeast of the keep. No sign of anything here. I’m going to find a clearing and get into the air to have a look.”

  “Be careful, Lainey. Whoever’s out there, they may have archers. Or magic.”

  Looking at Fitz, he asked “Please tell me, you’ve found a way to fix my magic? I can’t go into battle being useless like this.”

  Fitz shook his head. “Not yet. I’ve consulted with some other mages at the guild who specialize in magical theory. They’ve been pondering your situation, but have no suggestions as of yet. I’m sorry.”

  Alexander turned as Jules and the others reached him. “Jules, looks like you’re going to get to kill me after all.” He grinned.

  “NO” Fitz snapped his staff between Alexander and Jules, who already had her daggers in hand. “You are the king of a realm under attack. You can not die now. The consequences might be dire.” Fitz gave him a stern look. Alexander paced back and forth in frustration.

  “Use your mind, boy. You’ve not even set your people properly. Why have you not formed your defenders into companies already?”

  Alexander looked confused. So did everyone else. Fitz poked Alexander in the gut with the end of his staff. “As king, you can form your defenders into companies, with officers assigned to lead each one. It is similar to a raid party, but much larger. You will be able to communicate with them all, even when they are not within range of a structure.”

  Alexander opened his UI and searched until he found a “Kingdom” tab. Then a defense tab. He read quickly, noting that he could appoint generals and commanders, much as Fitz had described. The first thing he did was designate Sasha as a general. He watched as she got the notification, then nodded her head. Her eyes lost focus as she began to organize his people. She spoke out loud as she did so.

  “Brick, I’m placing you in charge of the player fighters, and the stone golems.” She looked at Alexander, who immediately instructed Jeeves to assign 5 golems to the front gate. “Lorian, the hunters are yours. You are now a Commander in the Army of Elysia.” She smiled, enjoying the thrill of suddenly commanding an army. She looked at Jenkins, whose squad still surrounded Alexander at a distance. “Jenkins, you and the other sergeants are now Captains. I’m assigning each of you a quarter of the citizens in the keep, including the civilians. Coordinate them with your guards and place them where they can do the most good along the wall. We’ll man the outer wall first, then retreat to the inner keep if necessary.”

  As she passed out orders, Braxis landed in the field nearby and trotted over. He bowed his head to Alexander, then began to squawk. Fitz translated. “He says he can carry you above the forest to locate the enemy. His mate and the other two are willing to carry riders as well.”

  Alexander thought for a moment. “Braxis, I will go with you. The others will have to search without riders, as they won’t understand each other. Can you instruct them to search from high above, and to find you if they see something?”

  Braxis nodded and squawked, then took off. “He will return after he’s given them orders.” Fitz translated.

  Alexander turned to Sasha and the others. “I’m no good to you down here without my magic. At least I can be useful in the air. I’ll come back once we’ve spotted them, and we’ll make a plan.”

  Sasha barely acknowledged him, she was talking to Max. “Max, go talk to the duergar. See if any of them want to fight. Don’t pressure them. We’ve told them they don’t have to, and they don’t. But it won’t hurt to ask.” Max took off at a run toward the duergar’s home beneath the outer wall.

  Sasha got back into guild chat. “Bodine, I need your animals to patrol the plateau. We’ve not seen an enemy down here yet, so it may be a new enemy up there.”

  “I’ve already sent them out, Sasha. The wolves are moving east, west, and north. The bears, tiger and the monkeys went south; as the area is smaller. Our birds are out as well.” Bodine answered.

  Sasha nodded her head in satisfaction, looking to Alexander. “We’re as ready as we’re going to be until we know who and where.”

  Alexander looked over her shoulder to see Lorian and a half-dozen hunters come down from the plateau sprinting across the field toward him. At the same time, Braxis landed again and approached. Alexander waved at Lorian as he hopped up onto the gryphon’s back. Braxis let loose a triumphant roar and took to the sky.

  Alexander watched as the wall and the gatehouse fell away below him at a surprising rate. Braxis was incredibly strong, and each beat of his wings gained them dozens of feet of altitude. In moments he was above the trees of the forest and still climbing as they made their way toward the caverns. Braxis may not be able to speak common, but he understood it well enough. He knew that an enemy would likely be making their way into the caverns to release the army there.

  It took less than five minutes before the great gryphon was circling above the enclosure that had been built after the fight with Howard and his drow. Alexander could see Drog and the rock troll reinforcements arriving. He also saw several piles of large stones inside the walls. The rock trolls had either taken it upon themselves to stockpile ammo… or those were lunch. A single hunter standing on the wall waved to Alexander.

  “Alright, Braxis. I don’t see anything. Let’s head east and see what we find.” He looked to the east, and could barely make out the form of another gryphon flying a bit to the south of them. Braxis obligingly turned east and began to soar above the forest canopy. Alexander tried to spot any movement within t
he forest, but even his elven vision wasn’t much help. What gaps there were in the canopy only showed him a shadowed floor.

  A squawk from Braxis caused him to look up. Following the gryphon’s line of sight, he saw a pair of bright white wings glinting in the sunlight. It could only be Lainey. Braxis slowed to a hover as she approached. “I don’t know how to hover yet!” She called as she approached. Braxis let out a series of short screeches that sounded like laughter. Accommodating the Valkyrie, he turned and flapped his wings, matching Lainey’s pace as she approached. When she caught up, Braxis moved next to her. In her leather armor and thigh-high boots, with her sword strapped to her back and wings beating, she looked glorious! Exactly like a Valkyrie of legend.

  “I haven’t seen anything yet. I told the others to head back to the keep.” Lainey reported. “It seems odd. This forest just isn’t that big. And the hunters have it pretty well covered.”

  Alexander was thinking the same. He said “Do me a favor? Stay near the caverns. Lorian and his guys might need some air support if the drow reach them.” Lainey nodded and changed direction. Alexander watched her go for a moment. His noob friend had become quite the badass.

  Braxis resumed his path east. They were maybe halfway across the forest, with the towers of the Stormforge palace visible in the distance, when Jeeves’ voice came across guild chat.

  “Alexander, I am now able to sense the invaders. Up on the plateau. They are approaching the northernmost village, moving south. There are currently thirty of them, and more coming into range rapidly.”

  Alexander pulled up his map. The northern village was maybe eight miles north of the garrison tower, across one of the newly reconstructed stone bridges.

  “How fast are they moving, Jeeves?”

  “Not quickly. They are walking. There are now nearly one hundred within my sensor range.”

  “What are they? Can you tell?” Max’s voice came through.

  “They are orcs, Sir Max the Fabulous.” Jeeves said in his deadpan voice, causing general laughter among those listening who didn’t know Max had chosen that name when they’d first found Jeeves.